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It's wide roads vs green cover

Last Updated 24 June 2012, 18:50 IST

The mega projects aimed to widen City roads and ease traffic have drawn flak for their long-term ecological repercussions.

It has been a long-drawn debate over development and green cover in Bangalore. As activists take to the streets with their version of the truth, civic agencies have been propagating the need for wider roads to accommodate the ever-burgeoning vehicular population.

As the argument continues, the observations of the Karnataka High Court eight months ago that widening is the only way to “decongest” roads has yet again opened the floodgates for further debate.

Since the proposal for widening 91 roads in the core areas of Bangalore hit the headlines in 2009, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been facing the wrath of concerned citizens who may lose their properties and are also unable to control the spiralling loss of green cover along roads. A survey conducted by Environment Support Group the same year showed that close to 40,000 trees were likely to be axed for the proposed widening of roads.

As days progressed, more and more skeletons started tumbling out of the Palike cupboard, which revealed massive loss of green cover along prominent roads earmarked for road widening. In the proposal for Jayamahal Road and Bellary Road, the numbers were placed at 1,223 trees.

A few kilometres away, along the Sankey Tank Road, as many as 500 trees are likely to be felled. According to the BBMP’s detailed project report on re-laying and widening of the Jnanabharathi Campus Road, 280 trees are likely to be chopped.

Fortunately, the Bangalore University management shot down the proposal and protected its green cover.

But for how long can people stave off the ‘evil’ plans of the civic agencies?

The high court observations in the Sankey Tank case have come at an ideal time for the BBMP.  Shunned by citizens who believe that green cover is being sacrificed for ‘unscientific’ and ‘unnecessary’ road widening, the Palike may now renew its bid to begin its projects.

The high court has said that in the backdrop of the ‘hellish’ traffic situation in the City, despite material comforts, road widening is the only means to overcome traffic congestion. “As on the side of the road trees are planted, without cutting the same, it is impossible to widen the roads,” a division bench comprising Justices N Kumar and H S Kempanna observed, while delivering its judgement in November last year in the case of Meenakshi Bharath and others Vs the State of Karnataka and others.

Wary of angry reactions from green groups, the BBMP has decided to shelve road-widening projects, albeit not completely. Sources in the BBMP claim the civic agency will take up the projects on a ‘priority’ basis, so as to avoid any large-scale conflicts.
At the top of the list is the widening of the controversial Sankey Tank Road, which the Palike is contemplating to start by July-end. Yet another project is the Bellary and Jayamahal Road, which will claim 1,223 trees, with 856 trees within the Palace Grounds.

The BBMP has now filed an Interlocutory Application (IA) in the Supreme Court, where the Palace Grounds ownership is under dispute between the royal family of Mysore and the State of Karnataka. “We are expecting even this project to commence at the earliest, with a possibility of a favourable verdict for the BBMP,” said a Palike official.

On the remaining roads, the BBMP is looking at widening Mission Road and Tannery Road immediately. According to Palike officials, the BBMP has already
submitted a DPR for the approval from the State government for Tannery Road, expected to be approved in the coming days.

Sources said road widening will now be taken up ‘bit by bit’ to ensure that the projects are not delayed on account of further impediments.
“The plan is to take projects in parts of a certain stretch, so that it is completed without any inordinate delay,” said the official.

Currently, 45 roads are being considered for ‘re-do’, including ‘minimal and invisible’ land acquisitions under the State government-sponsored, Tendersure concept.

Apart from the road-widening projects, there are also the five signal-free corridors, which are likely to claim more green cover. One among them, the Sirsi Circle to Agara Junction signal-free corridor is already under a cloud. For, the Palike is likely to acquire a part of the Lalbagh Botanical Garden for the project.

So where does the buck stop?

Considering the stiff opposition to road-widening, BBMP Commissioner Shankarlinge Gowda told Deccan Herald that there will be a policy change vis-a-vis road projects in the City. “Road widening over a long distance may not be the right solution. What we have decided is to consult the Traffic Police for their inputs, based on which roads will be widened,” said Gowda.

On the signal-free corridors, Gowda said road widening will not be throughout the entire stretches. It will be limited to places where there is a bottleneck. According to the Palike commissioner, the road-widening proposals have been considered, expecting minimal damage to the tree cover along the roads. “We will take up projects only on its absolute need-to-do basis, including the consideration of felling trees,” said Gowda.

But will these assurances turn empty promises? Question that can only be answered in the coming days.

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(Published 23 June 2012, 20:05 IST)

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