HC grants permission to fell 1,334 trees for metro project on ORR stretch

The High Court of Karnataka permitted the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) to fell 1,334 trees in metro project package-1 of phase-2B between Kasturinagar and Kempapura on the Outer Ring Road.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar granted the permission to act on the sanction letter given by the Tree Officer based on the recommendation made by the Technical Expert Committee (TEC), set up on the direction of the court to oversee felling of trees for metro and other projects in the city.
The TEC has also recommended that BMRCL has to retain 26 trees and will have to translocate 160 trees on this stretch.
The Tree Officer and the Deputy Conservator of Forest of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike on March 10, 2022, had issued a sanction letter asking the BMRCL to retain 26 trees, translocate 160 trees and fell 1,334 trees. Following this, the BMRCL had sought court’s permission to go ahead with process of removal of trees as per the TEC recommendation.
In the sanction letter, the Tree Officer had stated that 239 objections and suggestions were received on the proposal to remove around 1,500 trees between Kasturinagar and Kempapura stretch.
On objections received about discrepancies in number of trees to be removed in the list of trees given by the BMRCL to the Tree Officer and the number trees mentioned in the Environmental Impact Assessment, the BMRCL has given explanation that EIA was conducted about a year ago, and some of the saplings have grown during this period and hence they fell under the category of tree.
In lieu of trees to be translocated and felled, 10 healthy and heighted saplings have to be planted by the BMRCL for every tree translocate and felled and these saplings will have to be maintained for three years with photographic evidence on having planted and maintained the same, stated the condition imposed in the sanction letter.