About 1000 eucalyptus trees in the Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, have been axed as the varsity has decided to replace them with 10,000 native trees.
The issue came to the fore when residents in the vicinity complained to the Karnataka Biodiversity Board that trees were being felled in the biodiversity heritage site.
The government had in 2010 notified 412 acres of the 558-acre campus as a biodiversity heritage site. Members of the board visited the site recently to hear the version from the officials. UAS-B Vice Chancellor S V Suresh told DH that the eucalyptus trees were being removed as per the procedure. “It has been a long-drawn procedure. Most of the decisions were made before I became the vice-chancellor. However, we have followed the rules. The aim is to arrest the drastic decrease in ground water which has a direct impact on our research activities,” he said.
He said the varsity authorities were waiting for the rains to plant 10,000 saplings in association with the Forest Department and the BBMP.
“We have selected native tree saplings to help conservation. The eucalyptus trees are draining groundwater, which is our only source of water here,” he added.
Published 18 August 2023, 22:54 IST