[Urbanstudy] High Court directs Bangalore Road Widening to strictly comply with Town and Country Planning Act

[ESGINDIA]

*PRESS RELEASE : 02 April 2009*


*Widen Roads only in strict compliance with Karnataka Town and Country 
Planning Act and Karnataka Tree Preservation Act*

*Landmark Decision of High Court of Karnataka*

On 16 March 2009, the Division Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of 
Karnataka consisting of Chief Justice Mr. P. D. Dinakaran and Justice 
Mr. V. G. Sabahit directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP - 
Bangalore's civic authority) to strictly comply with the Karnataka Town 
and Country Planning Act (KTCP Act) and Karnataka Tree Preservation Act 
(KTP Act) when dismissing BBMP's appeal to carry on its ambitious mega 
project of road widening unconditionally. This interim direction was 
issued in a Public Interest Litigation filed by Environment Support 
Group and ors. (WP 7107/2008) challenging the legality of the ongoing 
road widening programme.


It may be recalled that BBMP has pushed for widening of roads since 2004 
on its unilateral claim that this would help relieve traffic congestion. 
It has repeatedly asserted its right to carry on this mega project 
costing at least Rs. 4,000 crores without complying with the provisions 
of the KTCP Act, amongst other. According to its current plans, 91 roads 
are proposed to be widened presently running over a length of about 400 
kms.


This road widening project will destroy some of the oldest 
neighbourhoods of Bangalore, ruin livelihoods of hundreds of traders, 
put thousands of people dependent on street trade and a variety of 
commercial services, displace hundreds of homes, and cause the felling 
of at least 40,000 avenue trees thus depleting urban greenery and open 
space. Such a massive exercise has been undertaken by BBMP in total 
disregard to environmental, social and economic impacts. Various 
independent studies and the city's traffic commissioner have questioned 
the logic of this approach providing evidence that the problem of 
congestion was due to untreated intersections and not because of lack of 
space on roads. Communities, environmental and social action groups, 
legislators and a host of other actors have consistently campaigned 
against the need for widening roads, and protested against the brazen 
approach of BBMP. But the BBMP has continued with its illegal and 
controversial approach guided by a draconian bureaucracy which has no 
oversight due to the lack of an elected City Council for over two years now.


So far four major roads have been widened. One such is the Bellary Road 
connecting the city to the new Bangalore International Airport. This 
project was undertaken without compliance with the provisions of the 
KTCP Act. At a very early stage Environment Support Group and /Hasiru 
Usiru /(a network of organisations and individuals interested in 
protecting the city's environment and open spaces) contested the 
proposal (as it was designed) and advocated a participatory approach to 
redeveloping this road in conformance with the KTCP Act and the National 
Urban Transport Policy. This appeal was brushed aside as BBMP was in a 
hurry to provide connectivity to the new Bangalore International Airport 
and failed to comply with planning provisions, statutory public 
consultation requirements or even standards for safe road design. One 
major terrible result of this brazen approahc has been that 53 people 
have been brutally killed in accidents on this one road and hundreds 
more have been injured and traumatised. Almost always, victims were 
pedestrians. The reason for such a high rate of accidents is not far to 
seek: 30 kms of Bellary Road widened and walled to connect to the 
airport has only 6 safe traffic intersections! As this road runs through 
densely populated neighbourhoods and several villages, people are forced 
to risk their limb or life in carrying on living. Such irresponsible 
planning has also resulted in fragmenting neighbourhoods and villages, 
and put at high risk the lives of elderly people and children who have 
to use the road daily.


*Background to the PIL:*


When the PIL was admitted by a Division Bench of the High Court of 
Karnataka constituted by Justice Mr. V. Gopalagowda and Justice Mr. Ravi 
Malimath in June 2008, the Court had hoped that BBMP would comply with 
all laws and progressive policies, such as the National Urban Transport 
Policy and National Policy on Street Vendors, while widening roads. To 
ensure this actually happenned, the Court established a Committee of 
interdisciplinary experts based on suggestions made by the Petitioners 
and Respondents. Mr. A.N. Yellappa Reddy, former Environment Secretary 
of Karnataka, was approinted to chair this scoping Committee and 
formulate legally compliant road widening schemes that were also 
sensitive to and protective of the rights of disabled, elderly people 
and children, and to ensure designs were so developed that trees were 
not unnecessarily felled and public transport and fossil fuel 
independent transport modes were advanced.


In the six months that this Committee functioned, Mr. Reddy conducted 
the proceedings in a secretive manner. Rather than allowing public 
engagement at all stages of planning and implementation of projects, as 
the law mandated and as Committee members repeatedly demanded, the 
approach adopted by Mr. Reddy was to push ahead with widening of roads 
despite its illegalities, and social and environmental impacts. Troubled 
by this undemocratic and unscientific approach, the Petitioners 
approached the Karnataka Legal Services Authority (Hon'ble Lok Adalat) 
in November 2008 for relief, as required per the High Court direction.


The Lok Adalat favourably considered the Petitioners representation and 
directed Mr. Reddy to ensure Committee meetings would be made public. It 
also directed the Committee to consider representations of Petitioners, 
affected public and independent experts while formulating suggestions 
for the programme of road widening and such other infrastructure 
projects. However, this relief was short-lived for during December 2008 
BBMP proceeded to widen Palace and Sheshadri Roads in the city centre 
causing the felling of over 500 old trees that formed the heritage of 
the city. This ruthless act was patently illegal and based on the 
non-existent power of the Committee to approve such legally 
non-compliant projects.


Deeply disturbed by such illegal exercise of power, the Petitioners 
moved the Hon'ble Lok Adalat once again. In its decision of 6^th January 
2009, the Lok Adalat held that little could be done now about the 
heritage trees that had been felled on Sheshadri and Palace Roads. It, 
however, reprimanded officers of BBMP and the Tree Officer over their 
efforts to get Court approval for actions in contravention of town 
planning law. Returning the case to the High Court to decide the 
applicability of KTCP Act to the activity of road widening, it directed 
BBMP and the Tree Officer to seek the Adalat's permission prior to any 
tree felling in Bangalore.


Rather than complying with the provisions of the law as mandated, BBMP 
sought to continue road widening and moved the matter before the High 
Court of Karnataka seeking its approval for road widening activity. 
Hearing the petition, the Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice Mr. 
Dinakaran clarified in its order of 16 March 2009 that "that the 
respondent corporation is at liberty to proceed with the works relating 
to widening of the roads. Of course, while doing so, the 
respondent-corporation shall _*strictly follow*_ the provisions of the 
Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and the Karnataka Preservation 
of Trees Act" (emphasis added). Thus granting the Petitioners, 
Environment Support Group and ors., the main relief sought for -- that 
KTCP strictly applies to road widening. A logical consequence of the 
High Court order was that the Committee headed by Mr. Yellappa Reddy 
became infructuous.


*Highly significant implications of the High Court order:*


The implications of this direction of the High Court are significant and 
far reaching. The Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, is 
perhaps one of the finest pieces of urban planning legislations and many 
states in India have adopted similar laws since independence. This law 
requires planning and implementation authorities to evolve urban 
projects by consulting the wide public in many stages. It further 
demands a detailed process of enquiry into social, economic and 
environmental impacts of projects and requires that implementing 
agencies develop schemes transparently by making public plans before 
undertaking any project.


Needless to state, most States have failed to implement this 
legislation. It is no wonder, therefore, that Indian cities are amongst 
the worst planned and managed anywhere in the world. Indian cities are 
also characterised by very low involvement of the public in decision 
making and some of the worst infrastructure scandals are a direct 
consequence of this intransparent and undemocratic approach. The lack of 
compliance with KTCP Act has also resulted in violation of several 
fundamental socio-economic and environmental justice rights, and of the 
rights to housing and sustenance of livelihoods such as by street 
vendors. Needless to state, the concerns of weaker sections of society, 
such as urban poor, the elderly, disabled and the needs of children are 
rarely considered with the sensitivity they deserve.


A direct and tangible result of the High Court direction to affected 
communities in urban areas of Karnataka is that hundreds of property 
owners, tenants and traders have now secured their statutory right to be 
consulted prior to any road widening work being implemented. By 
implication, this direction applies to all urban development and 
infrastructure projects, such as the Metro, High Speed Rail Link to the 
airport, building new roads (such as the one through the University of 
Agricultural Sciences campus) and so on.


Because the Court has explicitly stated that the provisions of Karnataka 
Tree Preservation Act will also be strictly complied with, the burden 
now lies with the Tree Officer of Bangalore to ensure that no tree is 
felled unless the activity demanding tree felling is firstly and fully 
compliant with the provisions of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning 
Act.



*What next:*


This unprecedented and landmark direction has significant bearing on the 
nature of engagement of urban communities with authorities. For one, it 
greatly advances the democratisation of decision making in urban areas, 
enhances the quality of public review of projects and ensures a high 
degree of transparency in formulation of schemes and implementation of 
projects. This is a sign step towards the the development of healthy, 
environmentally sensitive, safe and just cities.


To ensure that this order is strictly implemented, ESG along with 
/Hasiru Usiru /network will intensify its engagement with communities 
affected by road widening and other infrastructure projects and build 
their awareness on the significance of this victory. This is the most 
sure way to secure the wide public from adverse impacts of coercive and 
illegal actions by urban planning and development authorities.

Leo F. Saldanha                                                       
      Bhargavi S. Rao

Environment Support Group

105, East End B Main Road, Jayanagar 9^th Block East, Bangalore 560069. 
INDIA

Tel: 91-80-26531339/22441977 Voice/Fax: 91-80-26534364

Email: _esg at esgindia.org <mailto:esg at esgindia.org>_ or 
_esgindia at gmail.com <mailto:esgindia at gmail.com> 
<mailto:esg at bgl.vsnl.net.in>_Web: _www.esgindia.org 
<http://www.esgindia.org/>_


PS: Please visit our website (Namma Raste link) for a copy of the PIL, 
all orders of the High Court of Karnataka and Lok Adalat and minutes of 
meetings of the Committee.

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