For a greener Garden City

For a greener Garden City
The Greener Bangalore project of BCC and BDA will restore and enhance the city’s green spaces in two years, writes Leena Mudbidri
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.
The project which was included in the State budget plan will be completed in a budget of Rs 46 crores and will be executed in stages. The project will synthesise new practices in horticulture, urban forestry and engineering aesthetics to improve the green spaces all over the city.
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 a sustainable model 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. Apart from developing parks, boulevards along major roads and tree-lined avenues, the BCC will be initiating interested citizens into growing terrace and kitchen gardens where training for the right methods of growing vegetables and herbs will be imparted periodically. Plans are afoot to also distribute the right kind of saplings according to the climatic conditions.
Plans for the year
During the current year, BCC's plans will include:
Development of parks in each of the 100 wards under the Janodyanavana and other schemes. 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.
Development of mini forests (tree parks) 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.
?Development of traffic islands, circles, sidewalks and boulevards. Boulevards like the one on M G Road will be developed along the lines of the 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 of borewells, surface pond water and contour bonding.