BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which had come under fire for axing trees in the name of various infrastructure projects, is now preparing to deliver some good news for the city. The agency will conduct a tree census in January 2019, which it claims is a first-of-its-kind initiative taken up by a local civic body in urban forestry.
The BBMP has already held several meetings with experts on the matter. To cope with limitations of time and manpower, the Palike has decided to involve students of forestry, agriculture and biology from various institutions in Bengaluru, Sirsi and Ponnampet.
The census will also see participation from faculty members of various institutions in the city and Residents’ Welfare Associations. BBMP will also involve members of all ward committees for a more accurate idea of the total number of trees in the city.
The census will involve every individual tree being photographed and automatically recorded with a Global Positioning System (GPS) tag. Trees will be categorised based on age, species and number. The census will be done in phases where the trees will be first identified, categorised and then finally counted. In the final phase, BBMP will put signboards for rare and heritage trees so that the public can know more about the type of trees in Bengaluru.
BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad said, “A census like this has already been conducted by Pune Municipal Corporation, it was systematic and scientific. We want to conduct the survey along the same lines. However, the date of commencing the census is yet to be finalised.” The census in Pune was conducted in 2013, covering nearly 32 lakh trees.
The BBMP had announced this initiative in 2017, but it was delayed due to unavailability of manpower and the upcoming assembly elections in 2018.