NGT stays Bengaluru steel flyover for four weeks, asks BDA to respond

The National Green Tribunal has stayed the proposed Bengaluru steel flyover, which has been strongly opposed by the public, for four weeks. Admitting the two petitions on the project on Friday, the Southern Bench of the NGT located in Chennai, passed the stay order and sought responses from the BDA, and other agencies. One petition has been filed by Neeliah of the Swaraj Sanghatane and the other by V Balasubramanian, Former Additional Chief Secretary of Karnataka, and NS Mukunda of the Citizen Action Forum. For several weeks, Bengaluru’s residents have staged protests and begun petitions, strongly opposing the proposed project. The government claims the 6.7km flyover will ease traffic jams between Basaveshwara Circle and Hebbal, where it is supposed to come up. However, independent experts and activists have disputed these claims while the public thinks the project is wasteful and will end up being futile.  Environmentalists have alleged that the government has awarded the tender without obtaining the requisite environmental clearances, and bypassing local governance laws which were enacted after constitutional amendments. For a list of the major alleged violations, see here.  Moreover, many people are unhappy with the government going ahead despite strong public opposition to it.  Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George said that the “government cannot be dictated” by organizations which were protesting. He claimed that the organizations had vested interests.  Read TNM Editorial: