No plans to cut trees inside Lalbagh for tunnel road project till next hearing: Govt tells Karnataka High Court

Bengaluru: The state government on Tuesday informed the high court that till the next date of hearing on the pending public interest litigations (PILs), there are no plans to cut trees inside Lalbagh Botanical Garden for the proposed 16.7 km Bangalore Twin Tunnel Road project. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Poonacha recorded this submission and adjourned the hearing to December 9.

The bench was hearing two public interest petitions filed by Dr Adikesavalu Ravindra and theatre personality Prakash Belawadi. The petitions are filed challenging the July 14, 2025 tender notification issued by the state government and the BBMP (now Greater Bengaluru Authority - GBA) pertaining to the project. On October 25, the bench had asked the state government to inform as to whether there is any proposal to fell trees inside Lalbagh Botanical Garden as apprehended by the petitioners.

Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty submitted that there is no proposal to cut trees. Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, appearing as an advocate for one of the petitioners, and senior advocate DR Ravi Shankar told the court that while the project is still on paper, tenders have already been called. However, the division bench noted that since Advocate General has made the submission on the aspect of felling of trees the matters can be heard on December 9. Meanwhile, the bench directed the state government and other respondents to file their statement of objections.

One of the petitions, filed by Prakash Belawadi, has stated that trees inside Lalbagh are under threat as around 6.5 acres inside Lalbagh area has been demarcated for the project. It was further submitted that a rock formation, which is millions of years old and also a protected monument, is also under threat.

According to the petitioner, an expert committee report, filed in May 2025, had identified catastrophic gaps including absence of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), aquifer damage risks and flood hazards. This report was deliberately withheld from the public and the tender process began in July 2025, the petition said. The other petition, filed by Adikesavalu Ravindra, Vinod Vyasulu and NS Mukunda, all residents of Bengaluru city, alleged that the authorities have not sought an approval of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee, making the project constitutionally and statutorily infirm.