BMRCL files interim application before High court

Bengaluru: The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited has filed an interim application before the Karnataka High Court seeking permission to cut trees for the proposed metro rail corridor from JP Nagar 4th Phase to Mysore Road.

The interim application has been filed in connection with a public interest litigation (PIL) submitted in 2018 by the Bangalore Environment Trust and environmentalist Dattatreya Devaru.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C. M. Poonacha, while hearing the matter, directed authorities to submit a report on the implementation of its earlier orders. The bench also instructed officials to hold consultations with the petitioners regarding the proposed tree felling and adjourned the hearing to April 10.

During the hearing, counsel for BMRCL informed the court that a Tree Expert Committee has already submitted its report on the proposed metro line between JP Nagar 4th Phase and Mysore Road. A public notice has been issued inviting objections from citizens regarding tree cutting, and forest department officials have conducted site inspections and submitted their findings. Based on these processes, the corporation sought permission to proceed with tree felling.

The counsel further stated that a total of 2,184 trees fall along the proposed corridor. To facilitate development work, it would be necessary to either cut or relocate some of these trees. Each tree has been numbered, and a detailed study has been conducted on the feasibility of transplantation. Information regarding proposed relocation sites has also been submitted to the court.

Opposing the plea, counsel for the original petitioners argued that earlier directions issued by the High Court have not been complied with, including the submission of afforestation reports. Hence, the interim application should not be considered.

It was also pointed out that under the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976, the Tree Authority had been directed to undertake a tree census in the city. However, no such census has been conducted in the past 49 years. The petitioners urged the bench to direct the Greater Bengaluru Authority to complete the tree census as per the 2019 order.

The petitioners further alleged that despite strict directions, there has been no progress over the past three years. Project implementing agencies, including BMRCL and highway authorities, are responsible for compensatory plantation for every tree felled. However, this responsibility has reportedly been shifted to the civic body. Though claims were made about planting 50,000 trees, no detailed information has been furnished so far, the court was told.

The petition had sought strict enforcement of Section 5(5) of the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976, mandating that a new tree must be planted at the same location where a tree is felled for metro rail projects. It also challenged the constitutional validity of the amended Section 8(3)(6), which requires public notice only when at least 50 trees are proposed to be cut.