4 months ago
4
An FIR has been registered against Embassy Group by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Forest Cell for amerciable felling of trees successful the Kadugodi Reserve Forest area. This is the 2nd lawsuit linked to histrion felling successful the aforesaid wood spot since 2007. The latest FIR pertains to the felling of 110 trees.
As per the officials, astir 400 afloat grown trees were documented crossed the 78-acre wood parcel during a survey conducted successful 2006–07. This fig did not see smaller trees, saplings, and seedlings that besides autumn nether the explanation of a “tree” arsenic per the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976, which classifies immoderate woody works of astatine least 5.5 cm diameter and 1 m in tallness arsenic a tree.
The archetypal lawsuit of amerciable tree-felling was detected successful 2007, erstwhile the Karnataka Forest Department booked a lawsuit against Concord India Private Ltd., the institution past associated with the land. A punishment of ₹1 lakh was imposed, pursuing which tree-felling activity reportedly ceased for immoderate time.
In 2020, the erstwhile BBMP Forest Cell issued support for the felling of 42 trees successful the area. Forest officials said that say this support was issued by circumventing statutory safeguards, arsenic the instrumentality mandates a nationalist advertisement and hearing proposals involving the removal of much than 50 trees.
Using this permission, hundreds of trees were allegedly felled betwixt 2022 and 2025, exceeding the number authorised. The probe has besides recovered that nary permits were obtained for transporting the timber.
This comes amid an ongoing battle over the ownership and presumption of the larger Kadugodi forest land. The Embassy Group had begun work connected an IT parkland on 78.54 acres of the aforesaid onshore 4 months aft the Forest Department decided to record an entreaty earlier the Supreme Court to reclaim 449 acres of wood onshore in Kadugodi valued astatine implicit ₹22,000 crore.
The Embassy radical was not disposable for comments.
