The High Court of Karnataka on Monday directed the Tree Officer of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to submit a report on the health status of saplings planted as part of compulsory afforestation for the trees felled for metro rail project based on the permission granted as per the recommendations of the Technical Expert Committee (TEC).
Also, the Court sought a report on the health of the trees, which were translocated by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) as per the TEC’s recommendations. The Tree Officer will have to visit the sites where the BMRCL has taken up afforestation and translocated the threes, the Court said.
A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice S.Vishwajith Shetty passed the order while hearing a PIL filed in 2018 complaining about non-implementation of the provisions of the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976.
The bench issued the direction while the BMRCL has claimed that it has complied with the court’s earlier directions on compulsory afforestation and other directions while permitting the BMRCL to go ahead with cutting and translocation of trees as per TEC recommendation.
However, it was claimed on behalf of the petitioners, Dattatraya T. Devare and Bangalore Environment Trust, that the directions on afforestation and translocation were not complied with by the authorities.
