The Karnataka Forest Department’s proposal to fell over 6,000 trees to develop a lake in Bengaluru’s Singanayakanahalli under the Hebbal-Nagawara Valley Project has received flak from environmentalists and citizen activists. A public notification issued by the Forest Department on June 14 proposed cutting down 6,316 trees for the development of the Singanayakanahalli lake in Yelahanka hobli. The notice also invited objections via email or post within 10 days from its publication.
Questioning the logic behind the proposal and the deadline for objections, Veena Krishnan, lawyer and founder of the Green Footprint initiative, has written to the Forest Department asking for an extension on the cut-off date for objections. Speaking to TNM, she said, “Ten days is very less time and given the pandemic circumstances it’s difficult to get things moving.” Her organisation will be preparing an exhaustive list of objections, she added.
Vijay Nishanth, urban conservationist and member of the Biodiversity Management Committee, Bengaluru, who visited the lake area on Wednesday said that it wouldn’t be easy to compensate for the damage to the environment if these many trees were cut. “Thousands of trees have been growing for over 25 years. They are home to peacocks, foxes, hares, snakes and so many other animals. These factors need to be taken into account,” he told TNM. “We will not let them touch the trees till we get a fair chance to put forth our objections. Lake and development authorities, local citizens and environmentalists need to come together and see the on-ground situation,” he added.
The Rs 948 crore Hebbal-Nagawara Valley Project is aimed at recharging water and is expected to fill 65 tanks in Bengaluru Urban, Rural and Chickballapur. In February 2020, Bagaluru lake became the first to be renewed by receiving treated water from the project and was meant to supply water to 11 other lakes in the region. As per official data, of the 65 tanks, 43 are located in Chikkaballapur district spread across the taluks of Chikkaballapur, Sidlaghatta, Gauribdanur and Gudibande. As many as 12 tanks are located in Yelahanka taluk (Bengaluru Urban) and Devanahalli (Bengaluru Rural).
“Rejuvenation need not necessarily include beautification. The focus needs to be on finding ways to coexist with nature. Axing some varieties of trees permissible by court is acceptable but there is no need for so many trees to be cut for lake rejuvenation. Locals who are not expressing objections saying that the water will be a boost for agriculture have been made to believe that felling of trees is important for development,” said Ramprasad V, co-founder of Friends of Lakes, an organisation that works to protect the many lakes of Bengaluru.
Ramprasad added that there are many aspects of the proposal that need more clarity from the concerned authorities. “The Forest Department claims that these trees are not part of its social forestry initiative. However, the alignment and the equidistant spacing between them suggest that they haven’t grown naturally. Additionally, the approval by the Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority (KTCDA), which has to sign off on these projects, is yet to be shown to us,” he explained.
“We just celebrated World Environmental Day at the start of this month and these issues need to push us to reimagine, redefine our goals. Huge green belts in the city have been lost over the last year due to such development projects and at this rate, there will be adverse effects on the city’s climate. A people’s movement can help turn this around,” Ramprasad said.
Those who wish to send their objections to the lake development project can do so to dcfurban82@yahoo.co.in.