AXE EFFECT: HC says stop

AXE EFFECT: HC says stop

Court orders stay on tree-cutting at Lalbagh, wants BMRCL to explain

Srikanth Hunasavadi, Bangalore



Just when the Lalbagh campaigners thought it was all over, the Karnataka High Court stepped in on Thursday and gave them a reason to cheer. A vacation bench comprising Justice N Kumar and Justice Keshav Narayan ordered a stay on tree felling in the area and asked the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to explain the action at Lalbagh and RV Road.
The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Mahavir Ranka, a businessman and an RV Road resident, challenging the ordinance issued by the state government allocating 1135 sq metres of land in Lalbagh for a Metro station.
The stay has brought the smiles back in the green camp which had almost given up after CMBS Yeddyurappa gave a green signal to the BMRCL for tree felling despite protests.
Arguing for the petitioner, advocate Vardhaman Gunjal on Thursday said that the BMRCL engaged in tree felling without seeking proper permission of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) tree officer.
It was submitted that even though the trees felled presently in Lalbagh are eucalyptus, which do not require prior permission of the tree officer as per the Tree Protection Act, the fact that such trees are in Lalbagh Botanical Gardens constitute an important collection of the park's biodiversity.
The counsel gave the court a copy of the 2009 government order that involved a sale at a price fixed by the deputy commissioner of Bangalore.