400 trees down, paperwork still in the shade
A report says more than 400 trees were felled at Bollarum for the SCB elevated corridor. The project’s permissions, tree list and replacement record remain unpublished.
At Bollarum, the corridor is visible; the project’s tree permissions and replacement records have not been publicly provided.
More than 400 trees were reportedly felled at Bollarum for Hyderabad’s SCB elevated corridor, according to an August 28 report citing unnamed HMDA sources. The 18–18.5 km corridor is being built along State Highway-1/Rajiv Rahadari, linking Gymkhana Grounds with the Shamirpet Outer Ring Road limits. Earlier reporting, also citing HMDA officials, estimated that about 2,100 trees across the wider project could be affected.
The Telangana Forest Department’s published procedure requires a Tree Authority or appropriate-authority NOC before construction-related tree felling. It also lists an enumeration list, inspection report and Form 14 permission for non-exempt trees, and says compensatory plantation should be two to five times the number of trees felled outside patta lands. None of the project-specific permissions, tree enumeration, transplantation record or replacement-planting details was available in the material reviewed.
A reported HMDA plan proposes transplantation and sapling planting at a 1:4 ratio, preferably on vacant defence land. The plan is documented; its execution is not. HMDA, the Secunderabad Cantonment Board and the Forest Department have not publicly provided the missing project file in the material reviewed. The corridor has a route. The trees have a reported count. The paperwork is still taking the scenic route.