72 trees to be felled for road on Bengaluru's SWD buffer zone

Bengaluru: About 72 trees are expected to be felled for a 5.5-km road being built on the buffer zone of a storm water drain between Koramangala and Sarjapur.

A public notice issued by the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s forest department said the trees are located within 5.34 acres of defence land in Ejipura, through which the proposed road will pass.

Civic officials and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the new road will ease congestion and cut the distance between MG Road and Bellandur by up to 10 km, but environmentalists remain unconvinced.

“The road will be open only for two-wheelers and cars,” environmentalist Alexander James said. “Also, the road is being built in the buffer zone and removal of trees will only worsen the water-holding capacity of the soil, making the road weak.”

Shivakumar, who recently reviewed the project, said the road would create history and is aimed at protecting the drains.

In the past week, multiple public notices have alarmed citizens, with close to 700 trees marked for removal across two projects. While 310 trees face felling for a sewage treatment plant at Mailasandra, a similar facility at Doddabele is set to affect 355 trees.

“Tree felling is only increasing,” said civic activist and environmentalist Vinod Jacob, who pointed out that authorities have not reduced tree felling or implemented credible compensatory afforestation in Bengaluru.

“Alarmingly, these decisions appear to have been taken without public consultations, internal reviews, or site-level assessments. The Tree Expert Committee must urgently step in, conduct field inspections, and explore project realignments to save or significantly reduce the loss of these natural assets,” Jacob added.

Public feedback invited

The public can send their objections against tree removal to: The Deputy Conservator of Forests & Tree Officer, GBA, NR Square, Bengaluru-02; or email: [e-mail].