A worker clears the last remains of a tree trunk which was axed to facilitate widening of Jaymahal Road, in Bengaluru on Friday | Vinod Kumar T
BENGALURU: An increase in concrete structures and infrastructure works has drastically reduced tree cover in Bengaluru city. There is little or no space left to set up a park or lung space in Bengaluru any more. This is not all: the tree numbers tell their own story. In 2017-18, there was one tree for 7-8 people in Bengaluru.
This could have now increased to one tree for 15-20 people, say IISc experts, who are closely assessing the loss of green cover across the city. Experts say this is evident from the information shared by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) forest cell, which is giving permission for all government projects. Experts and citizens demand that a tree census be conducted in Bengaluru at the earliest, to know the ground reality.
“We get around 100-200 applications a month for felling trees, and most of them are from government agencies for various works like road widening, drain work, flyovers and many others. We don’t deny permission to government agencies but do take a look at those from private individuals. There is a need for a tree census, but due to a shortage of funds, manpower and other priorities, the census has not yet been done,” said a senior BBMP forest cell official.
“As per studies, there were 14.78 lakh trees for 9.5 million people in Bengaluru in 2016-17, giving a human-to-tree ratio of 1:8.
In 2016, the green cover was 7 per cent but has now shrunk to 3.2 per cent. This means there would be one tree for 15-20 people. Though sapling plantation drives are being undertaken, no census is being done to know the accurate picture, said Prof TV Ramachandra, from the Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc.
He added that the government is violating High Court orders, issued two years ago, by not conducting the census. Ramachandra pointed out that on average, trees release 540-980 gm of carbon dioxide a day. One hectare of trees can absorb 6-8 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. But now trees with smaller canopies are also a matter of concern. Ideally, there should be eight trees for a person.
