HC allows felling of 10 trees for underpass work

Underpass is being built on Suranjandas Road as part of a signal-free corridor

The High Court of Karnataka on Monday permitted the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to fell the remaining 10 trees for work related to an underpass being constructed on Suranjandas Road as part of a signal-free corridor from Command Hospital to Hope Farm. A Division Bench comprising Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum permitted felling of the trees after noticing that the technical expert committee in its report had come to the conclusion that cutting of the trees is inevitable for completion of the project. The court had earlier stayed further cutting of trees on the claim of the petitioner that there was no need to cut any more trees and the permission granted for felling trees was not proper as the committee had not properly considered the issue. Also, the court had earlier asked the committee to redo the assessment on need of felling these trees. It is true that great loss is caused to the environment by removal of trees, but the court has to keep in mind the requirements of Bengaluru city to ease traffic congestion and to prevent motor vehicle accidents, the Bench observed, while directing the BBMP to complete the underpass works at the earliest and take up compensatory plantation as per provisions of the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976. While disposing of the PIL petition filed by one Swathi Damodaran, the Bench directed the BBMP to submit a compliance report on compensatory plantation.