Hebbal tunnel project: 1,128 trees of 70+ species to be felled; full list still unpublished
More than 70 species of trees are among the 1,128 marked for felling along a 2.2-km stretch for Bengaluru's proposed Hebbal short tunnel project, according to Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) documents reviewed by The Hindu.
The species listed include Queen's crape myrtle, Agati, Yellow Tabebuia, Mysore fig, big-leaf mahogany, Pongam, paper mulberry, Indian Kino, Beleric Myrobalan and Indian jujube. The GBA has not yet uploaded the detailed, filtered list for public review, and officials said the final species count could be higher.
The project, estimated at ₹1,140 crore, is a 2.2-km cut-and-cover tunnel. Its alignment is expected to pass through areas that include the Hebbal lake buffer, Hebbal Tree Park, the Veterinary College campus and UAS staff quarters. Officials said the initial number of trees to be felled was about 1,400, and that a few hundred were retained because they do not fall within the tunnel's alignment.
R. Ganesan, Adjunct Fellow at ATREE, said that while high species density is common in forests, finding more than 70 species along a 2-km stretch in a metropolitan area is not typical. He said it reflects years of green cover being retained in the area, and that the Hebbal region has already seen substantial environmental change in recent years. In his assessment, removing the trees would affect the local microclimate and push up temperatures.
A.N. Yellappa Reddy, former forest secretary, said felling over 1,000 trees would destroy habitats and reduce the green cover that helps moderate local temperatures, besides affecting underground water levels. He estimated that temperatures in the area could rise by at least two degrees and that heat islands could form, adding that the effect would extend to a radius of about 2 km. He also said birds and small animals such as squirrels and garden lizards would move away. "The quality of life will also be impacted," he said, noting that the variety of species supports multiple ecosystems and habitats.
On September 20, the GBA issued a public notice inviting objections to the felling, stating that details of the trees and their locations had been uploaded on its website. Three days later, the list had not been published.
Environmental activist Dattatraya Devare alleged that the GBA was handling the objection process negligently. "If they don't upload the details, how can we specify our objections, and if it's not specific, then the objection will be junked," he said, urging the authority to re-issue the notice after publishing the list. Several citizen groups have raised similar questions and demanded that the details be uploaded immediately.
Separately, a petition on Change.org launched on August 3 under the theme "Save Bengaluru's Green-Blue Landscape" has crossed 20,000 signatures. Signatories are seeking an immediate pause to the project and independent assessments of its environmental, hydrological, traffic and safety impacts.
The project has drawn attention amid wider public scrutiny of urban tree felling in Bengaluru, where citizen groups and experts have repeatedly questioned how permissions are granted and objections heard. As of September 23, the tree list had not been published on the GBA website.
