Less than a week after National Green Tribunal stayed the controversial steel flyover project, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday stayed the project until the government consults public and the Metropolitan Planning Committee.
A division bench of the HC heard the petition filed by Namma Bengaluru Foundation, an independent organization.
Following the order, Bengaluru Development Authority, that had proposed the project and in charge of the implementation, gave an undertaking in court saying that it would not proceed with project.
On October 25, the NGT granted an interim stay and restrained the BDA from proceeding with the project for four weeks. The NGT order was based on a petition filed by Neelaiah, a member of the Citizen Action Forum and others.
For several weeks, Bengaluru’s residents have been staging protests and filing petitions, opposing the proposed project. The government claims the 6.7 km flyover will ease traffic jams between Basaveshwara Circle and Hebbal. However, independent experts and activists have disputed these claims while the public thinks the project is wasteful and will end up being futile.
Environmentalists have alleged that the government has awarded the tender without obtaining the requisite environmental clearances, and bypassing local governance laws which were enacted after constitutional amendments. The Rs 1791 crore project would also result in more than 800 trees getting chopped.