Greener pastures for Garden City

Greener pastures for Garden City
The Greener Bangalore project of BCC and BDA will restore the city’s green spaces
The Times of India


Living up to its sobriquet 'Garden City' will be that much easier for the city with the greening initiative of Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) and Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) taking root. The Greener Bangalore joint venture encompasses the development of tree parks, mini forest areas, theme parks, avenues and boulevards, traffic islands and medians, the employment of rain water harvesting techniques towards greening of urban spaces, imparting of training in kitchen and terrace garden installation methods, and the participation of residential neighbourhoods and private enterprises in the maintenance of the greenery around.

According to Gaurav Gupta, Additional Commissioner, BCC, the project has received the green signal from the State Government which included it in the budget plan. "We have drawn up a road map for two years on a budget of Rs 46 crores and will execute the plans in stages. The project will synthesise new practices in horticulture, urban forestry and engineering aesthetics to improve the green spaces all over the city," says Gupta. Objectives
The Greener Bangalore project envisages to:

Develop existing open areas into parks and green lung spaces for the public Create tree parks, traffic islands, medians, mini forests and theme parks with exclusive horticulture themes such as a rose garden, a cacti garden, a crouton park, and so on

Demonstrate and encourage the integration of rainwater harvesting techniques to develop sustainable models of urban greenery

Encourage participation of citizens and Resident Welfare Associations in the development and maintenance of neighbourhood parks

Promote public-private partnership through corporate and institutional participation

"Over 80,000 saplings are being planted all over the city in a phased manner and 100 parks, one in each ward, have been identified for development and restoration along the lines of the bio-diversity J P Park that BCC had developed a few years ago," says Krishna Udupudi, Deputy Conservator of Forests, BCC. "Apart from developing parks, boulevards along major roads and tree-lined avenues, we will also be initiating citizens into growing terrace and kitchen gardens," he adds. "We will impart training for the right methods of growing vegetables and herbs, and plans are afoot to also distribute the right kind of saplings according to the climatic conditions".

This year, BCC’s plans will include:

Development of parks: In each of the 100 wards, under the Janodyanavana and other schemes, parks will be developed. Local residents will be encouraged to use these parks for recreation. These parks will essentially integrate garden elements such as walkways, soft landscaping, rainwater harvesting structure, and planting of
trees such as Bahuhinia, Champaka, Pongamia, Sisso, Mahogany, Neem, Ashoka, Cherry, Jacaranda etc, in clusters.

Mini forests and theme parks: To increase the green cover and to reduce the maintenance cost, mini forest
areas have been planned in various city zones. Theme parks will blend aesthetics with development of open spaces around certain plant species. These parks will be spread across 22 locations within the city.

Traffic islands, circles, boulevards: Boulevards like the one on M G Road will be developed along Airport Service Road, Lakshman Rao Road and West of Chord Road. Side walks will be improved and roots of old trees which damage sidewalks will be cut. Trees will also be planted along sidewalks.

Public participation initiative: As part of the Udyana Mithra scheme, neighbourhood parks will be maintained through the joint participation of Resident Welfare Associations and BCC.

Rainwater harvesting techniques: To collect rainwater for better use, rainwater harvesting devices will be installed in parks. This will include recharging ofborewells, surface pond water and contour bonding.