32,572 trees to make way for suburban rail project in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Nearly 55 per cent of the 32,572 trees that will be felled to build the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP) are located in Akkupet, near Devanahalli, where a depot for train maintenance will be situated, according to K-RIDE.

Most of the 17,505 trees in Akkupet are eucalyptus and acacia, which K-RIDE notes are "not desirable due to their known side effects".

Of the remaining 15,067 trees, only 13,996 are located within the BBMP limits. In total, 18,576 trees are situated outside the city limits.

Railway Infrastructure Development Company Karnataka (K-RIDE) released these details on Wednesday after publishing the social and environmental impact assessment report of the 149-km suburban railway project, which is expected to ferry approximately 9.84 lakh people once completed in the next few years.

The BSRP will have four corridors, or lines, and 58 stations.

K-RIDE stated that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has so far permitted the felling of 2,098 trees and the transplantation of another 178.

K-RIDE also mentioned that it has already deposited Rs 8.07 crore with the BBMP to plant 22,760 trees under compensatory afforestation (planting 10 trees for every tree felled). The civic body is in the process of planting trees in various locations within the city limits and has so far transplanted 59 trees, it added.

K-RIDE emphasised that tree-cutting permissions are closely monitored by the BBMP's Tree Expert Committee (TEC) and necessary permissions for cutting or transplanting trees are given only after a physical inspection of each tree. 

A K-RIDE official said the BBMP would also maintain the saplings.