Bengaluru’s Panathur CDP road has received approval, with the 150-foot road set to pass through a 40-year-old, 150-acre urban forest. The project will divide the green zone into two sections while improving connectivity.
For years, Panathur residents have faced a difficult dilemma. They wondered whether the long-pending 150-foot Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) road would finally be built or whether the area’s growing urban forest would be protected. Officials have now clarified that residents will get both the road and the forest. However, the decision comes with a significant environmental cost, as the road will pass through the middle of the 40-year-old, 150-acre dense forest, dividing the green zone into two separate sections.
The decision brings an end to months of uncertainty surrounding the Panathur Tree Park and the pending CDP road project. Officials have confirmed that the road will pass through the forest land, while the Tree Park will continue on both sides of the road. The development has also raised questions about why an infrastructure project was planned through forest land in the first place.
The government will inaugurate the first phase of the Panathur Tree Park on Wednesday. The first phase has been developed across 40 acres for public use. The Forest Department will retain control of the remaining 100 acres of forest land, excluding the portion required for the road. However, the green cover will now exist in two separate sections.
Four Decades Of Green History
The controversy surrounding the forest land dates back several decades. Forest officials said the government notified the land as forest land in 1987. The department subsequently carried out continuous afforestation activities in the area, planting and nurturing thousands of saplings and trees over the years. These efforts eventually transformed the land into a dense urban forest.
According to forest officials, the CDP road proposal was first introduced around 2008. The proposed alignment passed through the forest land, but the Forest Department was not approached at the time.
A senior forest official explained the situation, saying, “Authorities proposed the road years ago, but nobody approached our department then. They built the road from both ends. But they left the middle portion incomplete because it passed through forest land and some pending spaces.”
The issue came into the spotlight in 2020 when the Forest Department began developing the area as a Tree Park under the Central Government’s Nagar Van Yojana. The department invested significantly in developing the area as a public green space.
An official questioned the timing of the road proposal, saying, “We started developing the Tree Park, and then the road infrastructure authority approached us. They asked for forest land for the CDP road. Our question is, what were they doing until then?”
Technology Could Have Saved The Forest
The Forest Department has maintained that alternative solutions could have been explored to preserve the continuity of the forest. Officials said they had discussed options such as an elevated corridor or an underpass, which could have reduced the impact on the green cover.
Another forest official said, “Engineers had many ways to build the road without disturbing the forest using today’s modern technology. It might have cost a bit more money. But the forest that grew over four to five decades would have remained in one piece, completely untouched.”
Under the current plan, a strip of forest land will be used for the road corridor. The strip is approximately 25 metres wide and 400 to 500 metres long. While the land required represents only a small portion of the total forest area, the road will physically divide the green zone that took four to five decades to develop.
Wire Fence Will Protect Remaining Forest
Despite its earlier objections, the Forest Department is now focusing on protecting the remaining forest land. Officials said they plan to secure the 100 acres located beyond the road corridor by installing a wire fence and constructing a compound wall.
The measures are intended to prevent future encroachments and additional land acquisition.
Officials also reiterated their commitment to protecting the remaining green space.
“We will put up a compound to conserve the remaining forest land. This forest is already split once. We do not want any extra pressure on it in the future. City development is not possible just with cement and concrete infrastructure. Green infrastructure is equally important,” they said.
The Bengaluru East City Corporation is constructing the 150-foot CDP road. The corporation has received government approval to provide alternative forest land in Belthangady in exchange for the forest land required for the CDP road in Gunjur.
Road Connectivity And Forest Conservation
Residents in the area now face the challenge of balancing improved connectivity with the protection of one of East Bengaluru’s major green zones.
The long-pending CDP road is expected to improve vehicular connectivity between Panathur, Gunjur and surrounding areas. At the same time, the inauguration of the Panathur Tree Park will open the four-decade-old urban forest to the public.
With the road set to divide the forest into two sections, the project marks a significant change for both the area’s connectivity and its green landscape.