Bengaluru: Forest dept opposes Panathur forest land diversion for 150-ft road

Bengaluru: A proposed 150-feet-wide road project near Panathur in east Bengaluru, pending for years and frequently cited while granting building approvals in the area, now faces uncertainty after forest officials recommended against diverting forest land for its construction.

If the project stalls, pressure could continue to mount on the existing road network, which is narrow and poorly connected.

In January, the Bengaluru East City Corporation requested diversion of 2.20 hectares (around 5.4 acres) of deemed forest land in survey numbers 52 and 53 of Panathur village to construct the road, which is part of the revised master plan (RMP) linking the Outer Ring Road and the Varthur–Sarjapur Road.

Following a site inspection on February 26, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Bengaluru Urban Division, N Ravindra Kumar recommended that the forest land should not be diverted for the proposed project. The officer noted that the forest areas in Panathur and Gunjurpalya had already been notified as deemed forests under a Karnataka government order issued in 2022.

In his report, the DCF pointed out that the Forest Department is developing a 33-acre tree park in the area under the Union government’s Nagaravana scheme aimed at promoting urban green spaces. Construction of the proposed road, he said, would split the park into two parts, rendering nearly 30% of the area unusable and wasting around Rs 40 lakh already spent on development work.

The report also warned that the road project could reduce forest density, disturb wildlife movement, affect biodiversity, damage green cover and impact groundwater recharge in what is described as a dry deciduous forest ecosystem with native tree species.

The 150-ft-wide road in Panathur comes to an abrupt end just before the forest land. DH PHOTO/Naveen Menezes   

Officials added that significant work has already been undertaken in the Panathur forest area, including plantations, eco-trail development, water tank creation and the establishment of Nagaravana features such as Nakshatravana and Rashivana.

Instead of carving out a new road through the forest, the DCF suggested upgrading the existing tar road in the area to minimise environmental damage.

“The DCF’s remarks are not binding,” said Aravind Limbavali, former MLA of Mahadevapura, adding that the proposed road is part of the master plan and is critical to easing congestion in the area. “What I understand is that the Forest Department has the authority to overrule and pass a favourable order,” he said.

Forest officials also raised concerns over the compensatory land proposed by the corporation in Mandur, stating that the site was once used as a waste dumping yard and is scientifically unsuitable for afforestation due to soil contamination, methane emissions, oxygen deficiency, and buried plastic waste.

Limbavali said the corporation had initially offered alternate land in Anekal, which falls along an elephant corridor. “Since there was no support from local officers in Anekal, Mandur was later selected for the afforestation work. It is a patch of revenue land adjoining the forest,” he said.