Public hearing on felling of trees for DC office complex

The Forest Department will conduct a public hearing on January 4 at the DCF's office in Mangaluru for the proposal to fell 666 trees in the site identified for the construction of a new DC office complex at Alake village in Padil.

The proposed DC office complex will come up on six acres of land. A public hearing is necessary for projects that require felling of more than 50 trees as per the orders of the Karnataka High Court and Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976.

Activists opposing the felling of the trees have initiated a social media campaign to urge the public to file their objections against it.

National Environment Care Federation (NECF) state secretary Shashidhar Shetty said, "Depletion of the green cover has already led to climatic changes like shortage of rain, high temperatures etc. The project may kindly be shifted to a new place where no trees will have to be cut. As a responsible citizen of India, it is my constitutional duty to protect the forests and wildlife of my country. Hence, I have already mailed my objection to the Forest Department and urged the authorities not to grant permission to fell even a single tree for the project." He added that he has already sent requests to hundreds of nature lovers to oppose the proposal to fell trees.