Follow-up petition for Chevella banyans finds fault with EIA process

NHAI faces backlash over Hyderabad-Bijapur road expansion, petition filed to protect banyan trees, EIA process questioned.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is yet again in the dock with regard to the proposed expansion of the Hyderabad-Bijapur road, after a follow-up petition was filed in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for protection of the banyan trees dotting the road margins in Chevella.

The petition was filed by Tejah Balantrapu, Pranay Juvvadi, and Natasha Ramaratnam, the original petitioners of an earlier case which was disposed of with an order to the NHAI to conduct environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the highway project, and to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to issue the terms of reference for the same. The three petitioners contended in their petition that the EIA process has been kept opaque, and no public hearing was conducted to save the 915 banyan trees lining either side of the highway 163.

Gathering from the meeting minutes of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under MOEF&CC, the petitioners noted that a total 522 banyans had been approved by the committee to be translocated , while 393 were to be retained. The EIA report, which is to be kept in public domain, is not available on the website, nor has it been shared with the petitioners. The EACgranted exemption from public hearing upon a request from the NHAI, which is illegal because the committee is not authorised to grant any such exemption, the petitioners said.

EAC constituted a sub-committee on the issue, but the recommendations have been kept inaccessible to the public. It is not known how many recommendations of the sub-committee have been incorporated. Prayer for interim relief sought an injunction restraining the NHAI from felling or translocating the trees, and directions to furnish the EIA report. The petitioners also prayed for quashing of the MOEF proceedings leading to EAC approval, directions for public hearing, and strict compliance with the EIA procedure.

The petition was filed a couple of months ago, and directions were issued to the MOEF&CC to file the sub-committee’s inspection report based on which the EAC has arrived at a decision. Final hearing is scheduled for December 13.