Bengaluru: As Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) prepares to begin Phase-3 of the Metro construction, the agency has called for public consultations starting Monday to address environmental concerns, particularly the fate of over 11,000 trees.According to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), approximately 11,137 trees may be affected by the 44.6km-long project. However, BMRCL clarified that this figure includes both trees that could be cut and those that may be transplanted, depending on feasibility studies and technical assessments that are yet to be finalised.The public notice issued Sunday invited environmental experts, citizen groups, and stakeholders to share their suggestions and objections. The discussions will be held over three days, focusing separately on the two proposed corridors, and will be headed by BMRCL’s general manager. Alexander James, a city-based environmentalist, argued for realignment to reduce tree loss. “We are not going to allow these many trees to be butchered. The engineers can re-align the structure to avoid this destruction. A similar thing happened in Halasuru a few years ago, and we managed to save the trees there,” he said.At the same time, some citizen groups acknowledged the need to expand public transport, despite environmental costs. Rajkumar Dugar, founder of Citizens For Citizens (C4C), said: “Even if a slight re-alignment is required to save trees, it is worth doing. However, the Metro project, even with some trees cut, is still far better than projects like the tunnel road, because public transport has clear environmental benefits.“Dugar also raised doubts about the numbers in the DPR. “If there are 11,000 trees along a 44-km path, that works out to around 250 trees per kilometre on average. I don’t think there are that many trees within the proposed route. BMRCL should carry out a detailed survey and share the accurate numbers,” he said.Phase-3 of Namma Metro is fully elevated and is planned to connect congested zones in the city’s western areas to the existing network. Corridor I will link JP Nagar 4th Phase to Kempapura over 32.1km, while Corridor II will run from Hosahalli to Kadabagere, covering 12.5km.
