BENGALURU: The recent tender called by the BBMP for a scientific tree census in 198 wards of the city may prove to be a non-starter as it imposes a lot of conditions and restrictions. Only registered companies can bid for the geo-mapping of the city’s fast-vanishing tree cover.
Environmental experts say with the lack of expertise in the country, the tender may not kick off. It should have been open to all and not just companies as there are hardly any companies conducting a tree census. Even the census conducted by a company in Pune resulted in allegations of scam with the Maharashtra CM ordering an inquiry.
Former forest officer and the man responsible for the city’s green cover S G Neginhal says, “The tender should be open for all, even NGOs and scientific institutes too. Every tree in every street should be counted. Its height, girth and condition should be recorded. It is better if the Forest Department does the work and creates a new census division under a capable DCF for it. Under capable leadership, volunteers can be trained and supervised to take up the work. “
Forest officials claim these conditions were included to avoid any scam in the tree census. Presently, `2 crore has been earmarked in the budget for the much-delayed exercise. The tender’s conditions stipulate that the bidder should be a registered as a company (and also with BBMP and the Forest Department) with a turnover of `1 crore in the last three years and have expertise in tree science. It should also possess GIS/GPS technology. They should have the required software technology and experience for such an exercise.
Speaking to The New Sunday Express, BBMP DCF Cholarajappa said in the wake of problems in Pune, the BBMP did not want such issues by opening the tender to NGOs. On the lack of expertise in India, the DCF said, “We will wait and see how many apply for the tender, which closes on the 15. I am aware that there are very few people with expertise but we need an organization that can do the work in its entirety.”
The census exercise has to be thorough and competitive, said the DCF. “In the absence of bidding, the best solution is to give it to a scientific institution.”
Due to increasing instances of trees falling due to rains and winds, the BBMP has included the parameter of the tree’s condition in the census. In fact, in the last three days, the BBMP has been receiving hundreds of distress calls (250-300) for the removal of fallen trees on major and minor roads in the city. From May 7-9, 89 trees and 256 branches fell in the Jayanagar and Dasarahalli zones. They were all healthy and the crowns of many trees, like Peltoform and Gulmohur, toppled on May
7 mostly.
Due to a severe staff crunch, the BBMP forest division is finding it very tough to address or tackle this problem in 198 wards. The coming days will be tough, they say as delays in clearance have been causing roadblocks, power failures and risk to two-wheelers and pedestrians.
Tree doctor to bring out app
Tree doctor Vijay Nishanth is all set to bring out his Vruksha app on June 1. The app will be used to do a tree census. A pilot version of the app was used a week back in Jayanagar. “The app will help in capturing tree images, save details about trees. College students will participate in the tree census. The younger generation are our future and they are getting to know about this app. The official launch will be on June 1,” said Nishanth.