New expert panel okays felling of 36 trees for metro projects

Number of trees to be felled brought down in the proposal

Thirty-six trees will be felled to make way for two metro stations and two metro-related works, for which the revised expert committee has given clearance.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had submitted a proposal for clearing 130 trees for five projects, including three metro stations and a fabricating yard area.

The expert committee looked into the proposals and provided importance to retain the trees in their condition by making smaller changes in the plans.

“Each and every tree proposed for felling was observed on site and measured. Discussions were held with all stakeholders on the best measures to adopt to save the trees. After some convincing, the committee was able to bring down the number of trees to be felled to just three,” an official said.

As per the order of the BBMP tree officer, 13 trees will be cut near BTM Layout (part of Reach 5), four for the fabrication yard at ITI College, 14 for the Dairy Circle metro station, five for the Lakkasandra metro station and three for the MG Road metro station.

In all, 36 trees will be felled and 23 will be translocated.

The tree committee was revised after activist Dattatreya T Devare moved the court against the overnight “indiscriminate” felling of trees by BMRCL.

Observing that the (previous) expert committee has not applied its mind before giving permission to cut the trees, the court had appointed the forestry department from the University of Agricultural Sciences as a third agency.

Interestingly, the number of trees cleared for cutting at the MG Road metro station site came down from 30 to three. Bringing down 90% of the trees marked for felling is attributed to the reduced numbers in the proposal.

In the proposal placed before the previous committee, BMRCL had sought to clear 47 trees, of which 17 were translocated. The latest proposal sought the clearing of nine trees, of which six will be translocated.

The official was not aware if metro contractors had already felled 30 trees going by the previous committee’s approval.

“The revised committee has looked into the proposals brought by the metro authorities. No inquiry has been conducted to ascertain the developments connected to the previous committee’s order,” he said.