Bangalore Metro Moves High Court Seeking Permission To Fell Trees For Constructing JP Nagar 4th Phase Mysuru Road Rail Line
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has moved an application before the Karnataka High Court seeking permission to fell trees for the proposed JP Nagar 4th Phase -Mysuru Road Rail Line.
The interim application has been filed by the respondent authority in a public interest litigation filed by Bangalore Environment Trust and environmentalist Dattatraya Devare in 2018 for the preservation of tree cover in the city.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha has asked the State authorities to compile all the reports regarding the compliance with previous court directions and make a consultation with the petitioners. The matter has been posted to April 10 for further hearing.
During the hearing, BMRCL (5th respondent) sought permission to implement an office memorandum from the Tree Expert Committee for felling trees in relation to the newly proposed metro line from JP Nagar 4th Phase to Mysuru Road.
The counsel for the rail corporation submitted that a public notice was issued inviting objections against felling the trees. Moreover, inspection has been undertaken by field forest officers, and their report has been received, he said.
The counsel for Metro Rail added that there are 2,184 trees in the project area, and some of them should be cut down or translocated, so that developmental activity doesn't face any impediments.
“All the trees have been numbered and there was also a detailed study about the viability of translocation. The receptor sites where translocation would happen are also mentioned...”, the counsel for Metro Rail elaborated.
The reports for the previous instances wherein the translocation was done are also available, said the counsel. At this juncture, the petitioner objected to the application on the grounds of previous non-compliance and non-filing of 'compensatory afforestation' reports.
The division bench also opined that there should be 'some checks and balances' to ensure compliance with the previous court orders.
In the meantime, the petitioners have also filed an interim application requesting the court to issue directions to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to finish the Tree Census. In 2019, the Karnataka High Court had directed the Tree Authority, constituted under the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976 and Tree Rules, to commence a Tree Census in the city of Bengaluru. It is pertinent to note that no tree census has been carried out in the last 49 years under the Act.
The petitioner submitted that the respondent authorities were given strict timelines, but they have not shown any compliance for the last three years. Each project proponent (like BMRCL, RIDCL, Highways etc) has to undertake compensatory plantation to plant replacement trees for every tree fell. Instead, they have shifted the burden to the Greater Bengaluru Authority, which would supposedly be planting 50,000 trees, though no cogent details are available regarding the said process, the counsel vehemently submitted.
The PIL also sought directions to ensure compliance with the guidelines set out by the judgment of the Bombay High Court in Public Interest Litigation No.93 of 2009.
It was also prayed that in every case, if the permission is granted to fell the trees, all efforts should be made, and it should be ensured that for every one uprooted tree, a new tree shall be planted at the same site, which is the requirement contemplated under Section 8(5) of the aforesaid Act of 1976.
The PIL also sought to hold as unconstitutional the amended section 8(3) (vii) of the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976. The amended section provides for a minimum number of trees to be felled in order for there to be a requirement for the issuance of a public notice, at an arbitrary figure of 50 trees.
Case Title: Dattaraya T Devare & Anr v. State of Karnataka & Ors.
Case No: WP 17841/2025