A see-saw battle for trees in Bengaluru

As the infrastructural axe falls repeatedly on trees within the city’s core and its periphery, the battle for green spaces is faced with a deadly mix of stealth and brute power.

Just when the lockdown’s controlled environment helped Bengalureans relive the city’s cherished but long-lost green image, the axe fell. Snapping that nostalgic connection, over 60 trees were felled on Bannerghatta Road, a rapid overnight exercise to beat a legal contest. On the city’s outskirts, a mega project to axe 8,561 trees gathered pace.

The balance has always been tricky. On the one side is the city’s fast-depleting tree cover, accelerating urban heat island effects, worsening pollution and killing urban biodiversity. Equally compelling is the public demand to expand the

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Metro network, but on many stretches this mandates felling trees in numbers beyond sustainable limits.

Environmentalists contend there is a process, and bypassing it is just not the way forward. This clearly refers to the axing of trees for the Metro’s Gottigere-Nagawara line, even before the High Court could begin hearing on a petition that challenged the felling.

Reviewing permissions

The matter is complex. The Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Tree Expert Committee’s approval for the tree-felling and translocation has now come under a cloud. On Thursday, the High Court directed Gandhi Krishi Vigyana Kendra (GKVK) University professors to review the permissions to check whether due processes were followed.

On the city’s outskirts, another big green crisis is unfolding. The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL)’s project to widen six roads has led to the imminent axing of 8,561 trees. Many of these trees are fully grown and of heritage value.

Ground reports have clearly established that the axing is already on, and the numbers could be far beyond what is there in public domain. “On the Anekal Road stretch alone, there are thousands of trees marked for removal,” notes Harini Nagendra, who was part of an independent rapid Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted by the Azim Premji University.

Number mismatch

Field visits conducted as part of the rapid EIA between February 29 and March 6, exposed the mischief behind the numbers. “We found a systematic pattern of mismatch with tree numbers on our surveyed stretches being higher than those in reports,” the EIA revealed.

On paper, 869 trees are identified to be cut in the 15km Nelamangala to Madure stretch. “We counted 929 trees in the same stretch, in our survey. On the Kanchugaranahalli to Jigani stretch covering 33.2 km, reports suggest that 184 trees are to be cut. From our field assessment, we counted around 1,000 trees already marked to be cut. In addition, several trees were unmarked but also likely to be cut during the road widening.”

Questionable intent

No traffic study has been cited to justify the road-widening. “Barring on Varthur Road where the number of trees are much less, we did not see the need at all. If the suburban rail project kicks off, this will not be required at all. There is no transparency in the entire process,” says Harini.

There is no sign of any official EIA either, points out Seema Mundoli, who was also part of the rapid assessment. “In all of the six stretches identified for widening, public consultation was done only in one place. But that too was a one-way process, where people were just told that the project was happening,” she elaborates.

KRDCL has maintained that it has taken permission from the Forest Department to get the trees cleared. “But the Tree Act has not been notified across the State. They are pushing forward using the lack of clarity. It is all an ad-hoc, piecemeal process, there is no comprehensive plan for the city or its periphery.”

Eco-balance, a mockery

Planting saplings to replace massive, heritage trees makes a mockery of maintaining the eco-balance. “The loss will be irreplaceable,” the report notes. “We recorded two massive banyan trees with a girth of 14.9 m and 17.7 m, an impressive 50 feet tall banyan, on the road from Nelamangala to Madure. One banyan tree on the Besthamanahalli to Hoskote stretch had a girth of 10 m. Other large heritage tree species that will be lost include peepul, Mysore fig, raintree, neem, teak, tamarind, and jamun.”

In progress for months, the tree-felling beyond the city’s periphery has largely escaped public attention. This is very unlike the situation within the city, where public outcry against clandestine axing has put both the BBMP and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on the backfoot.

Mindset matters

Is there a viable way out of this perennial battle for balance between the environment and development needs? “It all depends on the mindset.

If the approach is to save trees, then alternatives such as taking the Metro underground would have been considered. But if the approach is development at any cost, then issues arise,” notes urban planning expert V Ravichander.

A development mindset designed to compensate felled trees with planting saplings / trees elsewhere has to prove its environmental credential. “If environment had come first, BMRCL would have launched a project to plant one million trees. That would have generated a lot of goodwill, and made the process smoother,” he contends.

Questioning the entire compensatory approach, he wonders how planting trees elsewhere would help local people who had benefited from the green space for decades. “Transplanting too needs a white paper on how it is working. Survivability of transplanted trees is also open to question.”