Children do their bit for improving greenery

Children do their bit for improving greenery

The Hindu

A.N. Yellappa Reddy, former Environment Secretary (right); Samuel Paul, Chairman, Public Affairs Centre (second from right); Bijou Kurien of Titan Industries Ltd. (centre); at the release of Green Report Card for Bangalore, in Bangalore on Saturday. — Photo: Murali Kumar K.

BANGALORE, DEC. 4. A green report card compiled by the Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA), a joint initiative of Public Affairs Centre and Swabhimana, has recommended many measures to protect and improve greenery in the city.

They include a green master plan, maintenance of records of avenue trees, reintroduction of the concept of tree wardens and tree courts and distribution of saplings free or at nominal prices.

The report is the product of hard work and involvement of 2,000 children studying in various schools and representing 50 civic clubs in the city at various levels. The CMCA conducted a workshop for 44 students selected from 19 schools and gave inputs on various aspects of the issues and the methodology to be followed. It divided the students into groups of three. Accompanied by a CMCA volunteer, each group interviewed 13 persons who represented the agencies and organisations concerned and compiled the comprehensive report.

The report presented here today was based on field investigation covering 2,716 households. The objective of the survey was to draw the attention of key players such the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), the Bangalore Development Authority and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to the task of keeping the city greener and to seek their views on the issue of declining greenery.

The report listed many legal questions and policy matters to be addressed properly by the authorities concerned. "The green belt is a vague concept. Everybody has a different version of it," it added.

The report urged the officials concerned to plan ahead to plant trees and grant permission to cut tress only after saplings were planted as a compensatory measure. Strict enforcement of the BMP building byelaws and making compulsory planting of trees in the vicinity of huge buildings would help prevent further decline of greenery.

Every child should plant a sapling on his or her birthday, it suggested.

A.N. Yellappa Reddy, noted environmentalist, spoke on the importance environment and ecology.

Children from Al Ameen School, ASC Public School, B.M. English School, Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Sri Kumarans (ICBSE) School, Little Flower School, HAL Public School, Mothers Touch School, Prasiddhi School, Reddy Janasangha School, Sacred Heart Girls' School, St. Paul's School, Sudarshan Vidya Mandir, St. Thomas Aquinas School, Baldwin Boys High School, St. Joseph Boys School, St. Joseph Indian High School and VET School (J.P. Nagar) presented the survey.