BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday restrained for now the authorities from cutting 530 trees standing on the premises of Command Hospital, Air Force, for its project ‘Work-Multi Modern Hospital Complex, Main Hospital Building’ in the city.
The division bench of Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice MI Arun passed the order while hearing a PIL filed by Dattatraya T Devare and others in 2018.
The counsel of the petitioner submitted that the BBMP Tree Officer issued an official memorandum to fell 530 trees in the precincts and premises of Command Hospital in complete violation of the orders passed by the HC in the absence of report placed by the panel of experts appointed by the court.
The details of translocation and compensatory afforestation are not according to the procedure laid down by the court since the BBMP has planned to plant compensatory forest in Nelamangala taluk which is 45 km away from Bengaluru city, the counsel told the court.
He also submitted that the petitioners are not against development but against cutting of 530 trees in the heart of the city without following the due procedure and in violation of the court’s orders and the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976 and Rules.
The court directed BBMP to file its reply and also said that there should be no cutting of trees till the next date of the hearing to be held on February 4.
Why not underground Metro? asks HC
While hearing on the felling of 75 trees for the Airport Metro Rail project, the court asked why the underground metro should not be taken up to save trees like in many cities. In many areas of the city like Jayanagar and JP Nagar, the metro line passes through the areas where the trees are standing, the court observed. Then the counsel representing BMRCL submitted that the underground metro is 10 times costlier than the regular metro. Meanwhile, the counsel of the petitioner pointed out that 4,100 compensatory plantations have not been done for the trees that were felled in 2022.