BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to commence the tree census in city within 30 days from Thursday. The division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S R Krishna Kumar issued this direction in response to a PIL filed by Dattatreya T Devare and Bangalore Environment Trust in relation to the protection of trees.
Earlier, the BBMP counsel had informed the court that the census would be carried out in a month by the Institution of Wood Science and Technology (IWST). The court asked the IWST to produce the work order issued by the BBMP for the same.
The BBMP counsel has also submitted before the court that the necessary exemption has been sought from the state government to entrust the census to IWST which quoted Rs 4 crore for the same.
Earlier, the court pulled up the BBMP for not starting the tree census, despite the directions issued by it on August 20, 2019.
“There is no control over the cutting of trees. Why are you taking it casually even though the issue is related to the green cover in the city? This is a case fit for contempt. Unless we take action under the Contempt of Courts Act, nothing will move,” the court said.