Trees suffer as BMRCL stretches its metro corridor

BENGALURU: The new report release by Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) shows that at least 1,253 trees have already been cut down for the construction of second phase of Namma Metro in a response to an RTI query.

Half of the trees were razed for the new line from R V Road to Bommasandra with 599 trees cut for construction of the 19-km elevated line to Electronics City. 276 were bought down to construct extension of the Purple line from Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield.

As per the official details under Phase 2 development of Namma Metro, BMRCL is building a network of 72 km metro line, which includes extension of the Purple and Green lines. Under Phase 2A and 2B, the BMRCL is building a line from Silk Board to K R Puram and from K R Puram to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). Under Phase 2A and 2B, the BMRCL is looking to axe more trees to construct a metro channel stretching close to 55 km.

Vijay Nishant, an environmentalist alleged that BMRCL and the BBMP have been flouting rules while axing trees. “In the last two years, 300 to 400 trees have been cut without following rules,” he alleged.

For Phase I of Namma Metro, the BMRCL had cut 1,428 trees across Bengaluru.