Planned approach, not adhoc projects, will help reduce tree-felling in Bengaluru

Tree-fellings in the city have citizen groups and environmentalists raise their voice again. But their protests and pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears. Despite court verdicts, trees are being axed across the city for the Metro and other infrastructure projects.

Read: A see-saw battle for trees in Bengaluru

Here is a cross-section of Bengalureans articulating the need for sustainable development. They see it as the only way to reduce the need to cut trees that jeopardises the city’s already fragile ecosystem.

S Nityananda, who is a member of Bangalore Environment Trust notes, “Projects such as the Metro and road-widening must be taken up only if there are urgent needs like rapid commuter growth and extreme traffic congestion. They must adhere to the city’s long-term Regional Master Plan and adhoc projects must be scrapped.”

Tree-felling should be conditional. “Those trees that are too old, too large or too weak to be transplanted must be felled as a last resort, provided they obstruct the construction,” Nityananda says.

Invariably, he says, the project authorities complete a newly laid alignment and ignore the planting of trees on the route. “Metro authorities have widened roads along their alignments in such a way that only a hollow concrete box remains as a drain and pavement, on which no new trees can be planted,” he points out.

Transplantation is often an option. He refers to Kanakapura and Bannerghatta Roads, where 280 trees were transplanted by BMRCL during the Metro works in 2018-19. These trees had good survival rates, he recalls.

Effective and careful transplantation, together with large-scale compensatory planting and aftercare will mitigate the environmental impact that such projects can have on our urban life. Such a dedicated spirit of conservation from NGOs, government officials and project execution agencies, he says, will strike the right balance.

In the case of road-widening projects where trees are on either sides or one side of the road, he suggests a solution: “The authorities should actively consider building the additional lane on the other side of the tree line, instead of cutting the trees. The tree line then becomes a divider between two lanes that go in the same direction.”

This has already been done by the BBMP on Jayamahal Road and Sarjapur Road near Iblur. “Both KRDCL and BBMP must adopt such designs in all widening projects.”

David Kumar, a nature conservationist and member of NGO, United Way that has planted over two lakh trees over 10 years, says: “Without approvals or formalities, cutting of trees is not permissible. If someone has done it, they should be brought under the purview of law. Also, every individual should take action to plant more trees as it is the only way to strike a balance between environment and development.”

Older trees, he informs, will produce more oxygen than the recently planted one and provide shelter for various animals. This, in turn, helps enhance the ecosystem.

Programme manager Madhusudan H V notes that the trees being chopped now were planted decades ago, some 20, 30 or 50 years back. “If they cut banyan trees, which are very old, when are we going to replant them? The trees that we plant now will take decades to reach their full strength. So by cutting trees, how can the balance be maintained?”

Madhusudan, who is also a part of Say Trees (an NGO actively involved in tree plantation), offers another perspective: “If there is a valid reason such as a broken underground drainage or problem with an electrical line, then the authorities can permit trimming or uprooting the trees.”

Reiterating the need to strike a delicate balance, Vincy Wilson, a resident of Kormangala says, “We need to emphasize the idea of sustainable development. Using eco-friendly alternatives and relying on clean and green energy sources play a vital role here. While building huge infrastructure projects, it is critical to restore and rebuild our natural resources.”