BBMP cannot cut trees without our nod: Lok Adalat

BBMP cannot cut trees without our nod: Lok Adalat

Staff Reporter

‘Panel has no powers to permit felling of trees’

Empowered committee castigated for ‘usurping powers’ on tree felling decisions

BBMP felled trees on Seshadri Road in December to widen the road

BANGALORE: The Karnataka Lok Adalat on Tuesday made it clear to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that it could not cut down any tree in Bangalore city without obtaining prior sanction from the adalat.

Expressing anguish at the manner in which the BBMP had cut down several trees on Seshadri Road, the Lok Adalat Bench of Justice K.L. Manjunath and member Sharat Chandra said felling was illegal as the high-level committee appointed by the High Court to monitor the felling of trees had no power to permit such an action.

It said the empowered committee was under the illusion that it had the power or jurisdiction to pass orders on applications either by the BBMP or any other party for felling of trees. The Bench indicated that the committee could only hear the parties and any decision it takes should be placed before the Lok Adalat. Only the Lok Adalat had the power to decide on whether or not to permit the BBMP to go ahead with felling of trees.

The adalat was dealing with applications by Environment Support Group, Hasiru Usiru and Leo Saldanha seeking its intervention against the decision of the BBMP to chop down trees on Seshadri Road.

The applicants contended that the BBMP had felled trees on Seshadri Road in the first two weeks of December to widen the road. Though the petitioners had opposed the felling at a meeting of the high-power committee along with two other committee members, they were overruled.

Taking strong exception to the manner in which the committee had usurped to itself the power to pass orders on felling trees and deciding on applications, the Bench said no such power had ever been conferred on the committee. It clarified that only the Lok Adalat had the power to take such a decision.

The BBMP pointed to the order of a Division Bench of the High Court in June 2008 in which it had constituted the committee. It said the use of the word committee in the order had created confusion as the BBMP did not know whether it referred to the Lok Adalat Committee or the high-power committee.

The Bench said nothing could be done now about the felling of trees on Seshadri Road. It, however, made it clear to the BBMP that it could not fell any more trees in Bangalore without its consent.

ESG and Mr. Saldanha then asked the Lok Adalat to also take up the matter of road widening. They said the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act were not being adhered to before roads in Bangalore are taken up for widening. Moreover, the CDP and OUP norms are not followed.

The adalat said it could not take up issues relating to road widening as it did not have the necessary expertise. Moreover, one of the members, Mr. Sharat Chandra, was not a judicial officer and he could not sit in judgment. It said it would have to refer the matter to the High Court if the applicants insisted that road widening be dealt with by the adalat.

The adalat then referred the PIL back to the High Court, saying that it could only monitor tree felling activities and not those relating to road widening.