The public hearing to elicit objections to felling of trees in front of Lalitha Mahal Palace, and slated to be held on April 23, has been postponed in view of the COVID-19 situation.
The public hearing scheduled to be held at the Aranya Bhavan from 11 a.m. now stands postponed indefinitely in view of the restrictions imposed on public gathering owing to the surge in COVID-19 cases, according to the Deputy Conservator of Forest (Territorial), Prashanth Kumar.
Nearly 150 trees were marked for felling on a four-acre land to pave way for a helipad as part of the heli-tourism project against which there was public opposition. An online campaign launched to save the trees elicited nearly 70,000 signatures and even politicians belonging to the ruling BJP voiced their resentment over tree-felling and the heli-tourism project.
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The issue snowballed into further controversy as the erstwhile royal Pramoda Devi Wadiyar staked claim over the land proposed for the helipad and cited a court ruling in her favour. This put a question mark on the legal tenability of the project pushed hard by the Minister for Tourism C.P. Yogeshwar.