The Forest Department has given its consent to cut 4,995 trees and 1,332 bamboos in the forest and deemed forest areas of Sakleshpur range for the Yettinahole drinking water project.
Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (KNNL) has been asked to cut the trees and carry the timber to the district depot of the department. The Yettinahole project aims to divert water from the Western Ghats to the dry lands of Kolar and Chikkaballapur, among other areas.
Officers of KNNL have prepared a list of trees to be chopped based on their girth. The trees are located in Doddanagara, Kadumane, Nadahalli, Aluvalli, Kadagarahalli, and Heggadde villages of Sakleshpur taluk. These trees stand in reserve forest and deemed forest areas. KNNL had sought permission from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to divert 13.93 hectares of forest land in Sakleshpur range for the project. MoEF gave in-principle approval on June 1, 2016.
M.L. Manjunath, Deputy Conservator of Forests, told The Hindu , “We have given permission to cut the trees as per the norms. The project executing authority has to cut the trees and transport the timber to the department’s depot.”
The officer maintained that the trees listed for felling were small in size. “The number is high but the girth of these trees, by and large, is not. There are hardly any trees with one or two metre girth,” he said.
Many environmentalists have been opposing the project, saying it would damage the Western Ghats, one of the biodiversity hotspots of the world.
Earlier, KNNL had cut 42 trees in forest areas without the Forest Department’s sanction. Environmentalists had questioned this before the National Green Tribunal. The tribunal then asked KNNL to grow at least 10 plants for each tree cut.
Mr. Manjunath said, “KNNL has paid a little over Rs. 8 lakh towards the plantation activity, as per the tribunal order. We have planted 500 saplings in Muru Kannu Gudda and filed a report.”
According to MoEF norms, planting a sapling costs Rs.1,911. The cost covers maintenance of the plant for five years, besides the expenses on the plant and the digging of land.
