Bengaluru: The high court Thursday directed govt to file an affidavit within 10 days clarifying whether any scientific or hydrological study had been conducted to assess the impact of the proposed short tunnel project on Hebbal Lake, particularly whether it could obstruct the water body’s inflow and outflow channels or disrupt its underground flow.The court warned that it could stay the project if govt failed to respond within 10 days. “The specific allegation in the petition is that no studies have been conducted. We do not stop public projects. So, we are giving you time,” a division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemalekha orally observed while directing the state to file its statement of objections by the next hearing on Aug 20.The observations came during the hearing of a PIL challenging the Rs 1,140-crore Hebbal short tunnel project, for which CM DK Shivakumar laid the foundation stone on June 28. The proposed 2.2-km, three-lane bi-directional underpass is intended to ease traffic congestion by connecting Hebbal flyover junction with Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University through Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK) campus.The PIL has been filed by Bengaluru residents Guruprasad RK, Rishvanjas Raghavan and Elizabeth Soumya, who contend that the tunnel alignment passes beneath the lakebed and could adversely affect the network of stormwater drains that feed Hebbal Lake.Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Sneha Nagaraj argued the govt’s detailed project report acknowledged the lake’s inflow could be affected. She submitted that despite this, no independent hydrological, hydrogeological or environmental impact study had been carried out before the project was approved.The petitioners informed the court that 899 trees are proposed to be felled for the project. The bench, however, observed that tree felling is governed by a separate statutory process, including compensatory plantation.
