Don’t cut or prune trees for parking facility: Bangalore HC

The high court has directed the state government not to cut or prune trees for constructing a multi-level car parking facility in the vacant space of the legislators’ home until the next hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL).

Ramesh Babu, in his PIL, had sought direction from the court to stop the work for the parking facility to save trees in the Cubbon Park from the axe.

Babu said that when he visited the premises of the legislators’ home in the second week of January, he found that several trees had been cut for the project. He said that the government wanted the parking facility to come up. 

On August 6, 2010, the state government had filed an application in the high court for the construction of the multi-level parking facility in the vacant land around the legislators’ home. The court had then rejected the application to protect Cubbon Park’s green cover.

Despite this, the government started construction work there by cutting several trees in violation of the constitution, Babu said.
Cubbon Park is the city’s central lung space. The government is not applying its mind for the proper development of the city nor is it giving any importance to the maintenance of the eco system, the petitioner said.

A division bench headed by chief justice Vikramajit Sen, on Tuesday, directed the state government not to cut or prune trees in the vicinity of the legislators’ home for the construction of multi-level car parking facility.

The bench issued notices to the state government and directed it to file the counter affidavit within two weeks.