Over 800 Trees Cut Down For Steel Flyover, So Bengaluru Is Replacing Them With 60,000 Ornamental Plants!

As BDA prepares to ravage Bengaluru with its steel flyover project, experts point at the underlying lack of logic, understanding and due diligence while taking up a project of such enormous civic and environmental consequences.

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The government¡¯s plan to compensate for the 812 trees that it will cut down for a steel flyover by planting 60,000 ornamental plants was summed up neatly by environmentalist AN Yellappa Reddy as ¡ª ¡°Utter stupidity.¡±

¡°The city has lost its trees for various projects, including Namma Metro, and its many phases. The Bangalore Development Authority¡¯s (BDA) compensation theory has no logic. Substituting trees with ornamental plants does not make any sense. One needs trees for oxygen, mitigating pollution, creating habitats for birds, among other things,¡± says Reddy.

The 6.72-km flyover from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal flyover junction aims to provide seamless commute to the airport and back. The massive six-lane steel structure would take about two years to finish. The project has drawn criticism for the collateral damage the city will endure in the course of these two years. Many have questioned the need for such a sacrifice.

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According to Reddy, thousands of tonnes of steel will be used to build the bridge. This will also generate a lot of heat and cause environmental damage. He says the government needs to think of alternatives that are popular in cities in other parts of the globe. ¡°Constructing a steel flyover to connect to the airport is unheard of,¡± he says.

BDA commissioner Rajkumar Khatri said: ¡°I have asked our officials to check whether it is possible to transplant some of the trees. We are also open to suggestion on planting particular species if there are any reservations on planting ornamental saplings.¡±

SG Neginhal, principal chief conservator of forests (rtd), says compensatory afforestation needs to be done in a certain way for it to be effective. In this case, officials must raise plants in areas surrounding the project. ¡°Planting exotic or ornamental species to compensate for what will be lost will do environmental damage. Native species such as sampige, neem, pongemia need to be raised.¡±

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No Impact Study

The BDA has already decided not to conduct environmental impact study before taking up the project. A BDA official said: ¡°The project falls in the limits of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahan?ag?ara Palike (BBMP) and the existing rules in place exempt BDA from conducting environmental impact study.¡±

The BDA is also not going for social impact study citing that there is no ¡°involuntary displacement of families¡±.

There has been a demand from various quarters for the BDA to approach the Banga?lore Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC) for more deliberations. However, the authority defended the action of not seeking the committee¡¯s approval by saying that ¡°permission from BMPC is not required since BMPC has jurisdiction to suggest overall plan and projects. Approval of such and every project need not be obtained from BMPC. The cabinet has already accorded the approval¡±.