The Karnataka government on Tuesday told the Karnataka High Court that there are no plans to cut trees in the Lalbagh Botanical Garden for the proposed tunnel road project.
The submission in this regard was made in response to an earlier query by the court whether trees are being cut in Lalbagh after the petitioners who filed the PIL petitions challenging the tunnel road project raised concerns about the likely cutting of trees as around 6.5 acres in Lalbagh was recently cordoned off and public entry and exit to the area was stopped.
Keeping in mind that no trees are being felled, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonach adjourned further hearing on petitions filed by actor-director Prakash Belawadi, Adikesaval Ravindra and two others till December 9, as mentioned earlier, for further hearing on various issues raised in the petition on legality project.
The petitions were taken up for an urgent hearing on October 25 after the petitioners raised concerns over the felling of trees and the bench sought the government’s response.
The petitioners alleged that the project – which proposes construction of tunnel roads from Hebbal to the Central Silk Board Junction with eight entry and eight exit points on Build-Own-Own-Operate-Transfer mode – was proposed without a statutory assessment of its economic viability, social and environmental impact or constitutional validity.
Published – 28 Oct 2025 20:29 IST
