BMRCL’s KIA route awaits tree panel report

Nischith N. | NT

The BMRCL has just started the preliminary work for the metro link to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The contractor has also deployed heavy machines and partially barricaded the service road of the National Highway (Bellary Road), but is awaiting the Tree Expert Committee (TEC) report.

The report has been delayed because the BMRCL has not finalised the land for the tree translocation.

This line will be built under phase 2A and B of the metro project, the BMRCL is building the ORR-Airport line from Central Silk Board to the BIAL via K.R. Puram, Nagawara and Hebbal. The distance between the two points is 38 km. The phase 2A of the project from Central Silk Board has already begun on the Outer Ring Road, from K.R. Puram to Trumpet (till the boundary of BIAL).

The BMRCL is executing the project in three packages. According to the sources from the Bengaluru Metro Corporation, that Tree Committee is yet to submit the report of cutting 1,500 trees in the first package work from KR Puram to Kempapura and it reaches more than 4,000 trees for the full stretch.

“There was a delay in submitting the report by the tree expert committee because there was some issue of finalizing the land space for the translocation of the trees. But now the things have been fixed and the report will be submitted at month end for the package one,” says BMRCL senior official.

As per Indian Forest Act 1927, BMRCL has selected the suitable land for saplings. It needs to be done in vacant land as an environmental improvement measure. Before planting saplings, soil sampling and analysis will be done.

BMRCL claims that regular afforestation is already underway with 10 saplings being planted for each tree removed. Officials claim that they have already planted 60,000 saplings as compensatory afforestation across 25 locations in the city including defence land in Iblur, Karahalli and others, campuses of government-owned organisations such as KMF and layouts such as Nadaprabhu Kempegowda and lake bunds. It is also said the 813 trees have been translocated successfully till date.

The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) will build a metro line for a stretch of 2 km within its campus that will include construction of two elevated metro stations as per the design approved by the BMRCL.

The BMRCL had identified 2.21 lakh square metres of the land for the project, out of which 2.10 lakh sq.m. land was acquired and handed over to the engineering section. BMRCL has set 2024 as the deadline to complete the project.

“The report will be discussed and finalized and in a month or two, the contractor will take up the work in a full-fledged manner,” the official further added.