Greens call for expert panel formation before any review

BENGALURU: With Siddaramaiah government bowing to people’s power and finally withdrawing the amendment to the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act that was brought at the fag end of its tenure, it now leaves 25 tree species on the felling list. Two species — Mango and Belanje (pink cedar) — were withdrawn after the Karnataka High Court struck it down. Activists now call for setting up of an expert panel for any review of existing green norms or introduction of any amendments.

In 2015, the state government’s hasty decision to include Mango and Belanje in the felling list had resulted in the felling of 50,000-60,000 trees for over two months in private lands of Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru. However, on May 15, 2015 the court stayed the felling of both these species based on a petition filed by the Cauvery Sene, Kodagu.Welcoming the withdrawal after week long protests and demonstrations, environmentalists say, “It was a horrific situation earlier too as precious varieties were felled in just two months and three taluks of Madikeri, Somwarpet and Virajpet - lost more than 50,000 mango trees to timber traders. And we did not want a repeat of this.”

Calling for setting up a permanent expert panel before any such decisions are taken, urban conservationist Vijay Nishanth said, “We request the government to set up a permanent panel comprising  forest, ecology, environment, hydrology and urban development experts so that any new changes are screened and put before the public domain. Every time, some or the other project having serious ecological consequences is taken up without a public hearing - should we get down to the streets and protest ? We live in a democracy and the public has every right to know and question the government’s decision as its a question of our own survival.”

Akshay Heblikar, Director, Eco Watch adds, “This amendment was brought so secretly that nobody knew about it. Why couldn’t they have put it on public domain? It seems as if the days of public hearings or calling for public objections are gone. A team of experts could have discussed the pros and cons if any such amendment was needed.”

However, forest officials disagree. A senior forest official said, “This amendment was brought to encourage farmers to grow trees and allow them to fell and sell those species that are mature. Greenery has increased when you look at the FSI statistics about Karnataka, so we wanted to remove those species (but not in the forest) and expand the felling list. The tree officers can give permissions for felling in the event of Metro or any other infrastructure project and no amendment can stop this.”

Felling List

Casuarina,  Coconut,  Erythrina,  Eucalyptus, Glyrecidia,  Hopea  Wightina,  Prosipis,  Rubber,  Sesbania,  Silver  Oak,  Subabul trees,  Areca nut,  Coffee,  Guava,  Hebbevu,  Ailanthus  excelsa,  Lemon,  Maesopsis eminii, Sapota,  Seemegala,  Burma  Bamboo, Yellow Bamboo,   Acacia mangium, Acacia  hybrid and cashew.