The National Green Tribunal extended on Friday the stay on work related to the controversial steel flyover till December 6.
When the case came up for hearing on Friday , the BDA pleaded before the NGT to vacate the order of injunction imposed by it on October 28. But the court turned down the request.
Karnataka's advocate general Madhusudan Naik defended the Rs 2,100-crore project, saying since it would be connected to NH 7, the BDA should be exempted from filing an environmental impact assessment, just as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is. The environment ministry has a clause to exempt NHAI and state highway authorities from filing an environmental impact assessment if the project length is less than 30km. He argued the project won't harm the environment, despite the plan to axe 812 trees. The tribunal stayed work on the project till December 6 and also directed the petitioners -N Mukunda, the member of the Citizen Action Forum, and V Balasubramanian, retired bureaucrat -to file counter-affidavits till the next hearing. The court sought a detailed environment impact assessment to be filed and approved by the state-level green authority during the first hearing on October 28, which the BDA failed to furnish on Friday .
The project came in for criticism from citizens who pressed for an elaborate public consultation on its purpose and questioned if alternatives were considered. They also opposed the loss of green cover of 812 trees on Ballari Road that is to be chopped to make way for the project. While BDA claims the flyover to be an extension of NH7, that starts at Hebbal junction, NHAI-Bengaluru has not been consulted and has also objected to the proposal as it has equal jurisdiction over Hebbal flyover.
DOUBLE GAME BY GOVERNMENT'
Though the government had four weeks to secure environmental impact assessment, it slept through the court-sanctioned time and failed to obtain it. This is sad but not surprising, given the project has the massive negative environmental impact and the government knows they will not be able to obtain clearance through the due process.Hence, their double game of shuttling between the NGT and the high court, claiming no clearance is needed to the former while evading the question with the latter, Citizens for Bengaluru said.
When the case came up for hearing on Friday , the BDA pleaded before the NGT to vacate the order of injunction imposed by it on October 28. But the court turned down the request.
Karnataka's advocate general Madhusudan Naik defended the Rs 2,100-crore project, saying since it would be connected to NH 7, the BDA should be exempted from filing an environmental impact assessment, just as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is. The environment ministry has a clause to exempt NHAI and state highway authorities from filing an environmental impact assessment if the project length is less than 30km. He argued the project won't harm the environment, despite the plan to axe 812 trees. The tribunal stayed work on the project till December 6 and also directed the petitioners -N Mukunda, the member of the Citizen Action Forum, and V Balasubramanian, retired bureaucrat -to file counter-affidavits till the next hearing. The court sought a detailed environment impact assessment to be filed and approved by the state-level green authority during the first hearing on October 28, which the BDA failed to furnish on Friday .
The project came in for criticism from citizens who pressed for an elaborate public consultation on its purpose and questioned if alternatives were considered. They also opposed the loss of green cover of 812 trees on Ballari Road that is to be chopped to make way for the project. While BDA claims the flyover to be an extension of NH7, that starts at Hebbal junction, NHAI-Bengaluru has not been consulted and has also objected to the proposal as it has equal jurisdiction over Hebbal flyover.
DOUBLE GAME BY GOVERNMENT'
Though the government had four weeks to secure environmental impact assessment, it slept through the court-sanctioned time and failed to obtain it. This is sad but not surprising, given the project has the massive negative environmental impact and the government knows they will not be able to obtain clearance through the due process.Hence, their double game of shuttling between the NGT and the high court, claiming no clearance is needed to the former while evading the question with the latter, Citizens for Bengaluru said.