JOIN USTree census in different avatar: BBMP tries out fixing QR codes
The BBMP has carried out a pilot project in Malleswaram to fix a QR code on each tree that would provide information like its age and benefits. The pilot has covered close to 2,000 trees.
If the test run receives positive feedback, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) plans to use the QR code technology for all trees across the city, officials said.
Even though the high court had directed the civic body to conduct a full-fledged tree census in August 2019, the BBMP is yet to create a database of trees in Bengaluru — seen as a crucial exercise to assess the damage to the environment in the long run.
Sarina Sikkaligar, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) at the BBMP, said the pilot project was being undertaken to arrive at the cost of expenditure involved in the tree census exercise.
“We will prepare a detailed proposal for seeking grants. We hope to float tenders by December-end and start full-fledged work by March next year,” she said.
Sarina said the BBMP’s internal team has developed an app. “The QR code will provide around 16 details of a tree, including age, species, native and whether it is a medical, fruiting or an ornamental tree, and its economic value. This will provide significance to each tree. The project did not take off for many reasons but I hope to ensure its completion during my tenure,” she said.
Environmentalist D T Devare said tree census is absolutely critical and the BBMP commissioner will be held in contempt of court for repeated delays.
“There has been no proper count of trees situated in Bengaluru for the last 40 years. Unless we know the exact count of trees, we do not know how much more we need to plant and take care of,” he said. Tree census, he said, could be a reference figure for environmental planning.
Bengaluru has been witnessing large-scale felling of trees for different projects.
A 2016 research by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, had found that there are only 14.78 lakh trees but the city’s population is over one crore.
“Ideally every person should have eight trees. In Bengaluru, we have only one tree for every seven people. This is alarmingly dangerous. Well managed cities like Chandigarh or Gandhinagar have four trees for every one person and there are two trees for every one person in Nasik,” Prof T V Ramachandra, who authored the famous research paper, had said in the report.