In a move that upset several citizens, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) felled over 50 trees in front of Palace Grounds on Tuesday, January 3. The trees were axed to widen 600 metres of Ballari Road and to add two more lanes in the stretch between Cauvery Theatre and Mekhri Circle.
The Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) of the BBMP forest wing granted permission to cut down the trees in front of gates 9 through 4 of the Palace Grounds, at the request of the executive engineer to cut down 58 trees. According to Deccan Herald, DCF Sareena Sikkaligar issued an order on December 12, allowing the felling of 54 trees in accordance with the standards set by the Karnataka Forest Department.
While the BBMP has asserted that the road widening project will ease traffic congestion on the busy Ballari Road, activists and environmentalists are not convinced. "We will be monitoring the flow of traffic on the road where the trees were cut down for a few months or a year and take action from our side", Vijay Nishanth, an environmental activist, told TNM.
Earlier in 2016, several local residents and activists came together to protest the steel flyover project between Chalukya Circle and Hebbal Flyover. To ease the congestion in North Bengaluru, a six-lane steel flyover with a length of roughly 7 kilometres was planned. However, the renovation necessitated the removal of 800 trees. Environmentalists, campaigners, and the general public all voiced their disapproval and resistance to this. Following the #steelflyoverbeda campaign started by Citizens for Bengaluru, which gained massive traction, the project was ultimately shelved in 2017.
However, the BBMP recently planned to widen several sections of the road and construct grade separators at Chalukya Circle, Windsor Manor Junction, Cauvery Theatre Junction, and Mekhri Circle, citing traffic congestion in the area. Citizens are looking at it as a ploy to construct the steel flyover eventually. In a bid to compensate for the tree felling, the civic body said that it will plant 10 saplings along the road.