CM okays Metro plan, Lalbagh trees to face axe

CM okays Metro plan, Lalbagh trees to face axe

Says rail must for growth, promises to replace trees

Rohith BR. Bangalore

Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa on Tuesday firmly refused to consider pleas for a change in the alignment of the Metro rail project to save trees in Lalbagh and on RV Road. Yeddyurappa said that all trees marked for felling to make way for the Metro station and rail alignment at Lalbagh would be cut.
The chief minister's clarification comes as the Karnataka Land Army, contracted by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corportion Ltd (BMRCL) to clear the area demarcated for the metro rail alignment in Lalbagh, cut down three more trees since Sunday. At least 23 trees are earmarked for cutting in Lalbagh. Five had earlier been felled, when the Save Lalbagh campaign by green activists and residents of the area forced Bangalore in-charge minister R Ashok to assure them recently that the work would be stopped until after the general elections.
"Namma Metro must run. Cutting trees in the region is inevitable, as we don't have any alternatives," said Yeddyurappa, in response to the opposition to the present alignment of the Metro from environmentalists.
Yeddyurappa urged the green activists to desist from protests for the sake of protesting and understand that the trees were being felled for development of the city's infrastructure. He said saplings would be planted to replace these trees; that was "101 per cent sure".