In a letter addressed to the BBMP commissioner and the Deputy Conservator of Forest, the BMC member has highlighted the prolonged inactivity of the Forest Department in organising a single BMC meeting, despite repeated requests by committee members.
Notably, while Bengaluru formulated its first BMC in 2009, the committee formed by BBMP has not been active for more than three years now. It has thus failed to perform its primary duty of updating Bengaluru’s People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), a repository of traditional knowledge and the availability of local biological resources. The register was last prepared and updated in 2010 and is thus outdated.
As per the third notice issued on June 7, BMRCL had sought permission to cut 15 trees standing at its project site area from Agara port to Iblur port. TEC inspected on June 22 and passed an order granting permission for removing eight trees.
According to the experts, companies have overlooked the ABS rule due to a lack of awareness. While the guidelines on access to biological resources and associated knowledge and benefit-sharing regulations were notified by NBA in 2014, there has not been rigorous implementation of the rule.
According to Sarina Sikkaligar, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), BBMP, citizens have recently filed many such complaints in the recent past, and the civic agency has taken up some of the cases and registered FIRs against the offenders. She also informed BM that no permission has been issued by the department to any shop owner in the city to axe trees or trim the branches.