Citizen activists and environmental experts on Friday demanded transparency in the tree-cutting process for the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP). K-RIDE organized a public consultation to discuss the project’s environmental implications, attended by experts, members of the Technical Expert Committee (TEC), social workers, and officials from K-RIDE, BBMP, BDA, BWSSB, and Bescom.
According to the environmental impact assessment report, the 149-km project will require felling 32,572 trees. One participant estimated the economic cost of the loss of green cover at Rs 7,279 crore, using a Supreme Court-prescribed formula. “While adopting this method might hinder projects, it underscores that trees are precious and provide vital ecological services. Every tree should be saved, regardless of species,” he said.
Chiku Agarwal of the NGO Jhatkaa questioned the claim that BSRP was “affordable intra-city public transport,” noting that K-RIDE has autonomy over fare decisions. Attendees urged K-RIDE to publicly share data on reduced road traffic levels and provide credible information on the location and responsibility for compensatory afforestation. Concerns were also raised about the effectiveness of planting trees away from Bengaluru and the issue of last-mile connectivity.
K-RIDE reported that of the 17,615 trees surveyed, 17,378 (98.65%) are Nilgiri and Acacia species, and 16,849 (97%) of these have a circumference of less than 60 cm. The Karnataka Forest Department’s order from March 10, 2017, prohibits planting Nilgiri and Acacia trees due to their adverse environmental impacts. K-RIDE proposed planting 10 new trees for each Nilgiri tree removed and indicated that the environmental impact assessment and mitigation plan would be discussed further.
Rajkumar Dugar of Citizens4Citizens called for an urgent and comprehensive review of the trees planned to be cut, the alignment and locations of facilities necessitating tree removal, and full documentation and transparency in all related matters. This includes species and numbers, compensatory planting details, maintenance, and regular reviews with the planting agency to ensure a survival rate of over 90% after three years.
