BMRCL underreported trees to be axed for metro project

The BMRCL’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report is found to have grossly underestimated the loss of trees to build the Phase 2A metro line between Central Silk Board and KR Puram.

The EIA report filed by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) in June 2020 put the number of trees affected at 1,248, out of which 1,042 were to give way for the viaduct and 206 needed to be removed for the station.

But latest reports show that the 20-kilometre metro line, considered a solution to clear the notorious traffic jam on the Outer Ring Road (ORR), will result in the felling of 1,859 trees.

No clarity exists on how many of them will be precisely affected by the viaduct and how many by the station.

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared for Phase 2A in 2016 put the number of affected trees at 1,412.

While the EIA report is expected to be an authoritative document on the project’s overall impact, it has shockingly under-reported the loss of vegetation.

Activist Dattatreya T Devare said the BMRCL has failed to seriously examine the discrepancy between the EIA and the felling proposal.

“We should note that there haven’t been changes in the project route,” he said. “One can understand a difference of 10 or even 50 trees due to minor changes. (But) the number of trees has gone up by 611, putting a question mark on the authenticity of the EIA report. Why are officials providing wrong information to the public for years?” he asked.

‘Various’ factors at play

A senior BMRCL official attributed the difference in tree numbers to “various” factors.

“Minor changes in the design at the final stage, changes in the definition of a tree to include those with a smaller girth and other factors might have led to the increase in the number of trees,” the official explained.