Road widening works: Tree felling needs clearance

Road widening works: Tree felling needs clearance
DH News Service, Bangalore:
The road widening projects proposed for City by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will now have to go through the scanner of a seven-member Review Committee headed by environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy, to check on its environmental and social sustainability.

A city NGO Environment Support Group (ESG)’s president Leo Saldanha told mediapersons in Bangalore on Wednesday that following ESG’s PIL filed along with another NGO CIVIC Bangalore, Karnataka High Court has constituted a Review Committee. The Committee has been ordered to consider public views with regard to falling of trees and developmental works for widening of roads.

To be monitored by HC Legal Services Committee, the Review Committee will hear the contentions raised by ESG, CIVIC, take views of public, State Government and BBMP officials’ with regard to tree felling relating to road widening proposals, and about re-planting measures required. Incidental matters which result in traffic hazards and related to public or private transport, senior citizens, physically handicapped persons, children, ecology, environment and health will also be considered.

Committee constitution
Dr Subbarayan Prasanna, Former Dean of Urban and Regional Planning, IIM, Community Health Specialist Dr Shirdi Prasad Tekur, Social Anthropologist Dr Carol Upadhya, Specialist in pollution related disorders, Dr Parameshwar, Construction specialist Dr Sharma and Dr Shekar Mudhu of IISc’s Civil Engineering department are members of the Committee headed by A N Yellappa Reddy.

Saldanha said, ESG has also raised issues of viability of road widening and other alternatives to traffic decongestion, with main stress to consulting local public before proceeding.

Roads belong not only to car owners but also to majority of the people who travel by public transport and also pedestrians, he said. Already about 300 trees are cut for 10 roads’ widening and the whole project might cost about 30,000 trees in city.

BBMP Superintending Engineer, Road Widening Cell, Ramesh told Deccan Herald that as per directions of the Court and the Review Committee, no tree falling will be resorted to unless concerned road widening proposals are considered and cleared by the Committee. The Committee is expected to listen to the suggestions in the interest of environmental issues raised and make early conclusions to prevent hindrance to developmental works.