The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to clarify whether it has any plans to cut down trees in Bengaluru’s Lalbagh for the proposed twin tunnel project. The matter was heard Saturday by a bench consisting of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Poonacha.
The hearing came in the context of a petition filed by Bengaluru-based actor Prakash Belawadi. Representing him was advocate and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, who raised concerns regarding the possible impact on 6.5 acres within Lalbagh, including the large Peninsular Gneiss rock formation.
The Lalbagh rock formation, a national geological monument, is approximately three billion years old and bears one of the watch towers of Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bengaluru. In response to the petitioner’s submissions, the government counsel stated that instructions would be taken and a reply provided on the issue of cutting trees by Tuesday.
Belawadi’s petition calls for a restraint on the Department of Horticulture ‘alienating’ any of the land under its control, including Lalbagh, for the twin tunnel project. It also calls for an impact assessment of the project by the Geological Survey of India. The petition shares many objectives with a prior petition filed by a group of Bengaluru residents that came before the high court a month ago.
The petition filed by the group calls for quashing the tender notification for the twin tunnel project issued in July, as well as the detailed project report (DPR) released in December last year. It also calls for the quashing of a 2024 letter from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority that said the project did not need environmental clearance.
A global tender for the twin tunnel project, which is estimated to cost over Rs 17,600 crore, was floated in July. While Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has touted the project as a solution to urban traffic congestion, urban mobility experts, civic activists, and Opposition leaders have all raised major concerns regarding the proposed project.