According to the Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF), Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), BMC is looking to follow Rajkot’s Municipal Corporation’s (RMC) method to create a dense forest on these sites that have recently undergone bio-mining.
Over the last few months, hundreds of sampige saplings have yet again been planted by the residents’ group between the 8th and 18th Cross of Malleswaram. The group recently joined hands with Gandhi Krishi Vigyana Kendra (GKVK) for technical support in tracking these saplings.
The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) had sought permission for the clearance of a few trees standing in the MG Railway Colony area for the construction of railway quarters a couple of months ago. A public notice regarding the same was put up by BBMP, following which a field forest officer conducted a spot inspection.
While Bengaluru got its first BMC in 2009, the committee has not been active since 2019 and thus has failed to perform its primary duty of updating the city’s People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR). The document was last prepared and updated in 2010.
The civic agency, after a delay of nearly four years since a High Court order, had finally set the ball rolling early this month for the tree census and floated tender for enumeration of an estimated 20.8 lakh trees in the city, spread over 9,761.6 sq km.