Bengaluru Metro Phase 3 faces concerns on urban ecology
Bengaluru’s much-awaited Metro Phase 3 expansion has hit a fresh roadblock, with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report delayed once again. The study, vital to determine the exact number of trees that would be affected, is holding back the detailed project report (DPR) and slowing progress on a corridor that promises to ease the city’s worsening traffic crisis.
According to officials, the EIA was initially scheduled for review by August. However, due to a poor turnout at earlier public consultations, a second round of stakeholder meetings had to be convened, pushing timelines further. The delay is particularly significant as the DPR cannot move ahead until the EIA confirms the final count of trees to be felled or transplanted.
Earlier estimates suggested nearly 11,000 trees could be impacted, a figure later scaled down to around 6,000. The final number will be confirmed only after the environmental assessment is completed. For residents and civic groups, clarity on this figure is crucial, not just to gauge ecological loss but also to ensure compensatory measures are fairly implemented.
At a stakeholders’ meeting this week, the implementing agency assured that every tree affected would either be transplanted or replaced with fresh saplings. Yet, citizen groups questioned the transparency of the replantation process. Environmentalists raised concerns about saplings being relocated to areas far outside Bengaluru, pointing out that such measures do little to replenish the city’s shrinking green cover. The 44-kilometre Phase 3 project, entirely elevated, is divided into two corridors. Corridor I is expected to connect JP Nagar 4th Phase to Kempapura over 32 kilometres, while Corridor II will link Hosahalli to Kadabagere, covering 12.5 kilometres. Together, the lines are intended to boost public transport accessibility in the western and northern stretches of the Outer Ring Road, where private vehicle dependency continues to choke arterial roads.
Experts highlight that delays in environmentally sensitive infrastructure projects underscore the growing conflict between urban development and ecological preservation. While mass transit expansion is essential for reducing carbon emissions and building a sustainable city, it cannot come at the cost of unplanned ecological damage. For Bengaluru, where tree-lined avenues are already dwindling, balancing transport priorities with ecological responsibility remains an urgent challenge. For now, the city waits. Until the EIA is finalised, the Metro’s expansion into key congested neighbourhoods will remain on hold—symbolising the delicate negotiation between growth, governance, and green commitments in India’s technology capital.
