Bengaluru Cantonment green zone declared biodiversity heritage site

The 8.61-acre green zone at the Bangalore Cantonment Railway Colony was declared a biodiversity heritage site last week. Activists believe having such a protected green space in the centre of the city sends out a strong message about prioritising greenery. However, it must be managed well to serve as a model, they add.

Reportedly, it is the second such site in Bengaluru. The other is the GKVK campus on Bellary Road.

The colony has 368 trees, which can be classified into roughly 44 species. Paper mulberry dominates with 180 specimens, followed by 41 mango, 27 rain trees and 11 jackfruit, according to a list placed before the Tree Expert Committee for verification. Some species appear in single numbers — cardamom, hoovarasi, neem, amla, sandal, subabul and teak. Flowering trees such as yellow trumpetbush, tabebuia rosea, gulmohar, jacaranda, champaca and African tulip exist, alongside fruiting trees like jamun, guava and pomelo. Medicinal plants include honge and drumstick.

On a visit on Wednesday, Mahesh Basapur of People for Environment (Parisarakkaagi Naavu), one of the citizen groups that actively opposed tree-felling plans at the colony, pointed to a silver oak with a white cloth tied around its trunk. The cloth carried the name of someone who had pledged to save it as part of their protest campaign. He then showed a sprawling rain tree shading a 2+1 building, its canopy stretching nearly an acre. Five names were scribbled on the ribbon around its massive girth.

For former residents, the colony is steeped in memories. N Krishnamurthy, whose family had lived here for two generations, recalls his grandfather saying a rain tree had sprouted from cow dung. He remembers climbing a peepal tree to set up lights. It stands in the middle of a temple his grandmother started in the colony over 60 years ago. He would also sight peacocks, monkeys, snakes and mongoose frequently.

Alexander James joined the protest not just as an activist with the Environmental Impact Group, but as someone with deep personal memories of the railway colony. Over 45 years ago, he would visit his friends. “We played hide and seek, and marakoti (tree monkey game)," he said. They were a group of 9 to 10 kids. James remembers they had planted more than eight saplings in the colony, which they picked from around the Millers Tank area, then a lush green valley. “We planted one mango tree at the entrance and another right opposite Cantonment Station, inside the compound,” he said. When the protests began earlier this summer, he spotted those same trees bearing fruit. “We threw stones, got some mangoes, and ate them,” he laughed.

Activists say the declaration must be followed by careful management. Parashuramegowda, general secretary of People for Environment, urged forming an expert committee to guide its development. “We could grow medicinal plants and plant more saplings of endangered species. A small museum could be set up. Access to the temple can be given, but everything must be under vigilance to avoid human interference with the greenery,” he said. Basapur, a techie, added that concrete packed around old trees must be removed, and plastic litter across the site needs urgent cleanup.

In 1920, Mahatma Gandhi had urged Bengalureans to join the freedom struggle at the Cantonment, Vijay Nishanth of Project Vruksha Foundation, notes. “We could set up a Gandhi statue at the colony, and double the green cover to honour both its heritage and environmental aspects. The site should serve as a model for other green lungs,” he said.

Priya Chetty-Rajagopal of Heritage Beku said the next step should be on making the site accessible, sustainable, and well-maintained. She suggests forming a small team of officials, local residents, and experts to guide the work. Simple additions like walking paths, signboards, and QR codes on trees (“as done in Cubbon Park”) can help people connect with the space and take pride in it. Even small touches, like placing an old engine or naming the site Cantonment Green, can highlight its cultural and ecological history. “You have to know (a place) in order to love it. You have to love it in order to save it,” she said.

James suggested carving out a small resting corner for people planning to board the train from the Cantonment Railway Station, right across the colony. 

Karnataka Biodiversity Board, and South Western Railway could not be reached for comments on their plans.

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These activists say Bengaluru needs more such protected green lungs to counter deteriorating air quality. They count Jnanabharathi campus, the Roerich estate, Bannerghatta National Park, Kadugodi forest, and a gundu thopu (sacred grove) near Manyata Tech Park among worthy contenders. Noted environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy says the government should go further and declare the railway colony a sacred grove. This would allow large-canopy trees to thrive and create an undisturbed refuge for birds and animals, he notes. He cites Kalkere Arboretum and the planting of 10 lakh trees around police quarters under the Janaki Amma Ethnobotanical Park as proof of the impact of urban greening.

Ecologist Harini Nagendra says that for a site to be declared a biodiversity heritage site, it must have irreplaceable ecology, unique biodiversity, and a long history and cultural significance for the community and city. There is no set criteria; it can differ from location to location, she added.