According to documents obtained by The Hindu, the slated felling includes species such as Indian Kino, Big‑leaf Mahogany, Beleric Myrobalan, Indian Jujube, Maple‑leafed Bayur, Paper Mulberry and Yellow Tabebuia. The GBA initially earmarked 1,400 trees, but officials say a few hundred were spared because they fall outside the tunnel’s alignment.
R. Ganesan, adjunct fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), warned that the concentration of so many species in a compact urban corridor is rare and underscores years of green‑space preservation. He cautioned that removing the trees could disrupt the microclimate and contribute to a temperature spike in the area.
Former forest secretary A.N. Yellappa Reddy echoed these concerns, stating that the loss of over a thousand trees would destroy habitats, diminish oxygen banks and lower underground water levels. He projected a rise of at least two degrees Celsius locally, creating a heat‑island effect that could extend up to a two‑kilometre radius and drive away birds, squirrels and other wildlife.
On September 20, the GBA issued a public notice inviting objections to the tree‑felling, claiming that details of the trees and their locations had been uploaded to its website. However, three days later the list remained unavailable, prompting activist Dattatraya Devare to accuse the authority of negligent handling of the objection process and to call for a re‑issued notice with the full list published.
Citizen groups have rallied around a Change.org petition launched on August 3, which has amassed more than 20,000 signatures. The petition demands an immediate pause to the project and an independent assessment of its environmental, hydrological, traffic and safety impacts, describing the tunnel – a ₹1,140‑crore, 2.2‑km cut‑and‑cover structure – as a threat to the Hebbal lake buffer, Hebbal Tree Park, the Veterinary College campus and UAS staff quarters.
The controversy highlights a broader tension in Bengaluru between rapid infrastructure development and the preservation of its dwindling urban green spaces, with experts warning that the loss of such biodiversity could have lasting repercussions for the city’s climate resilience and quality of life.