Ignoring HC directions, BBMP officials axe 12 trees in Hosakerehalli

Defying high court orders, the BBMP has axed 12 large trees, some at least 100 years old, for road widening at Hosakerehalli Lake.

The civic body’s RR Nagar division failed to follow the process prescribed by the court for axing trees while implementing public projects.

After the high court mandated issuing of public notice before axing trees, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) Forest Department has been publishing the notices on its websites and also in newspapers. Civic authorities in RR Nagar ignored this process, baffling even the Palike’s senior forest division officials.

The majority of those 12 trees were rain trees, while one banyan tree is at least 100 years old. Locals are shocked at the way the BBMP felled the trees. “Some of those trees are so huge that it would take two or three people to hug them,” said Ravi Narayan, a local resident, asking the court to punish the engineers and contractors responsible for the brutal felling.

Narayan said senior officials at the forest division did not respond to his calls and messages for the last four days when the contractor went on to cut the trees.

RR Nagar’s Chief Engineer Vijay Kumar said the Regional Forest Officer (RFO) axed the trees, while the forest official said the department did not give permission for the axing.