BENGALURU: After much confusion on Monday night over whether the public hearing on the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) will be held on Tuesday morning, the meet organised by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) took place as scheduled at Avalahalki village but with very poor participation. Last minute decisions and communication gaps between the KSPCB and the BDA turned the whole affair into a sham.
The 65.5-km road ran into controversy as 33,838 trees will have to be axed for the eight-lane project, proposed two decades ago to decongest the city.
Ever since the BDA announced on August 14 that the hearing would take place on August 18, it had faced flak. NGOs and environmental activists had been questioning the timing of holding such a consultation meet during the raging COVID-19 epidemic. The venue selected was also far from the heart of the city, at Nityotsava convention hall on Doddaballapur Road near Avalahalli village.
Following stiff opposition from many, including the co-ordinator of Environmental Support Group, Leo Saldahna, the State Minister for Forest and Ecology, Anand Singh, had decided to call off the public hearing on Monday night. Mails in this connection were shot off late last night by the KSPCB to the BDA as well as the Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru Urban, who was to chair the meet. But a communication gap occurred.
A top BDA official said, "Though a few officials including myself were here till 8 pm, we did not get to see the mails last night." Adding to the confusion for the public, a few newspapers announced that it had been cancelled while some stated that it was on.
The official added, "A few participants started coming in for the meet to the venue this morning and so we decided to go ahead with it as scheduled."
According to a top KSPCB official, "There were around 50 participants at the meet today. Due to the need to maintain social distancing, only a limited number can be permitted. We have recorded all their suggestions. KSPCB will hold a similar public meeting shortly which will be publicised in advance with a notification issued in newspapers."
Meanwhile, the BDA also put out an official release last night that a virtual public meet will take place on September 3. There was no mention of the cancellation of Tuesday's public hearing.
Minister Singh was apparently miffed that the hearing took place despite his instructions to the contrary. He did not respond to repeated calls by this reporter.
"In case of public hearings, the Deputy Commissioner is the final authority. The minister is not empowered to take such calls," said an official who did not want to be named.