360 trees facing axe for railway commercial project near Bengaluru Cantonment station

However, the move has sparked concerns among local residents and environmentalists who fear that large-scale tree loss will further deplete Bengaluru’s already dwindling green cover.

The RLDA, a statutory authority under the Ministry of Railways, plans to develop a commercial project on an 8.61-acre land parcel at the Cantonment Railway Colony, strategically located between Cantonment Road and Thimmaiah Road. The project, with a reserve price of Rs 236 crore for a 60-year lease, aims to boost Bengaluru’s economy by providing residential apartments and commercial complexes. A separate one-acre parcel is designated for railway colony redevelopment.

To facilitate this development, the RLDA has sought permission to remove 368 trees, many of which are heritage species like Peepal, Rubber, and Christmas trees, some over 100 years old. These trees are spread across a large area within the colony premises.

In fact, environmentalists are also planning to launch a campaign, ‘Save Cantonment Heritage Trees’, opposing the felling of these trees. “Citizens will be encouraged and appealed to lodge their protests by writing to dcfbbmp12@gmail.com, the email account of the BBMP Forest Wing Chief, and to rldabangalore2022@gmail.com, the official email account of the Railway Department,” said environment activist Vijay Nishant.

Meanwhile, Rajkumar Dugar, convener for Citizens4Citizens forum, suggested that RLDA integrate the greenery into the design plan of the structure. “I recommended that RLDA incorporate the existing greenery into the design plan of the commercial structure, instead of axing the decades-old trees. Working around the tree will add more value environmentally, similar to the design of Kempegowda International Airport’s Terminal 2,” he said.

He added, “RLDA had already damaged saplings planted in 2021, as part of the preparatory work for the commercial structure. We had planted 2,365 saplings of 100 different species in a dense forest format inside the present railway colony. However, most of these saplings now stand damaged overnight for the preparatory work of the commercial building.”