UPDATE ON HEARING DATED 03.09.2020 in the High Court of Karnataka

W.P. No. 17841 of 2018 (PIL), D.T Devare and Anr. v. State of Karnataka and Ors.

The High Court of Karnataka today was to consider the application for stay filed by the Petitioners in respect of the felling of trees for the road development projects on the outskirts of Bengaluru by Karnataka Road Development Corporation (KRDCL), a company wholly owned by the State of Karnataka. These road projects are in areas such as Anekal, Nelamangala, Harohalli, K.R.Puram, Sarjapura, and approximately 8500 trees were proposed to be felled by KRDCL.

At the hearing today, the Petitioners submitted that the Forest Department had arbitrarily granted permissions and that there was no application of mind when identifying which trees were to be felled and which were to be saved. KRDCL clarified that an independent study was conducted by the Department of Environmental Science, Bangalore University, to identify trees to be felled, and that this study was done in parallel to the permissions granted by the Deputy Conservator of Forests. KRDCL also submitted that in an attempt to save trees, the number of trees to be felled has reduced from 8500 to approximately 5300.

On hearing both sides, the Court noted that there was no specific method used to identify which trees can be saved prior to granting permissions to fell trees.

Noting KRDCL’s submission that it had stopped felling trees for these projects from 08.08.2020, and that it was agreeable to an expert committee re-examining the trees that could be saved, the Court directed that the Committee of Experts constituted by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (GKVK) to reconsider and examine if any trees can be saved while constructing these roads as per the finalised alignment.

The committee will also go into the question of translocating the trees which are required to be felled for constructing the roads. As certain stretches of roads need to be prioritised, the Court directed KRDCL to consult the Expert Committee, and place before the Court a schedule for the inspection, on the basis of KRDCL’s priority.

The matter is next listed on 08.09.2020.

The Court also noted the memo filed by the State Government on the current status of the ongoing tree census. The State Government also placed on record an order dated 30.08.2020, whereby a professor and associate professor at University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (GKVK), were added to the Expert Committee constituted by the High Court in this petition.

Please be alert dear citizens, the court has accepted KRDCL’s statement that they have stopped felling. We therefore need to keep a vigil and if there is any felling noticed, post 8th August 2020, it will have to be brought to Court’s attention.

So, let's stay on the alert!  Let's double our efforts!  And let's reaffirm our faith in the cause! Let's stay true to our constitutional duty to save and improve our natural environment!

Jai Hind!