KBR Park in Hyderabad - Environmental Protection Vs Development

Issues:

» This case is designed to enable readers to understand and discuss:
» Urban Planning and the Contradictions of Sustainable Development.
» Urban development and the environmental challenges.
» Environmental protection vs economic development.
» The increased importance of green areal spaces within the city space.

Introduction

On May 2, 2016, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), set up by the Government of India on October 18, 2010, under the Green Tribunal Act 2010 to handle cases involving environmental issues, directed the municipal commissioner of the south Indian city of Hyderabad to withdraw the decision to cut down thousands of trees in the iconic Kasu Brahmananda Reddy (KBR) national park, Hyderabad, as a part of the Strategic Road Development Project (SRDP)

The State Government of Telangana had taken up the ambitious project with the intention of easing traffic snarls in Hyderabad, the state capital. The project involved the building of multi-level flyovers at 54 junctions at an expected cost of Rs 200 billion. Of these, six flyovers were to be constructed around KBR Park and the foundation stone for the opening phase of the project was laid at the entrance of KBR Park on January 3, 2016.

This move by the government was immediately opposed by citizens of the city, who, along with activists and NGOs, started a massive campaign against the proposed felling of more than 3,000 trees in the park, which was used by a lot of people for jogging and recreational activities. Concerned citizens voiced their opposition in various forums. They said the problems the city was facing – high pollution and water shortage – would only intensify if so many trees were cut. They also said that as the trees are located in a national park, felling them would affect the flora and fauna in the area, and further deplete the green cover in the city...