Is there a reservation for trees?

Is there a reservation for trees?

Swathi Shivanand and Chitra V. Ramani

Though there is an Act to protect them, it largely exists only on paper


Swathi Shivanand

and Chitra V. Ramani

BANGALORE: Amid the indiscriminate felling of trees, one wonders whether any legal or other provisions exist to save our so-called Garden City's declining green cover.

In what can be termed visionary, the Government of Karnataka formulated the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act in 1976 to regulate tree-felling at a time when the State was poised for major urban and industrial growth.

It called for the establishment of a Tree Authority, consisting of the Mayor, the Divisional Forest Officer, the District Horticulture Officer, the municipal commissioner and one member of the municipal corporation.

The authority, which had to meet at least once in three months, was to be responsible for the preservation of trees, conducting a census of trees, development and maintenance of nurseries, planting and transplanting of trees when felled for road projects.

However, no tree authority exists. A.M. Annaiah, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Bangalore Urban), said that tree authorities exist in rural areas. "However, in Bangalore city, there is no tree authority as it has not been notified. There are various wings that look into preservation and planting of trees in the city, which includes the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike."

Authority

The sole authority of allowing a tree to live or be felled rests with the Tree Officer of the BBMP. This post, even though mandated by the Act, was created only after a High Court ruling. After the Environment Support Group (ESG) took the legal recourse to stop the felling of several trees on Cubbon Road, the High Court set guidelines for felling trees.

Suggestions

One of the suggestions was that the civic body rope in Hasiru Usiru, the environment organisation, before it can cut trees. But they are rarely contacted. "We have been only on three inspections with the BBMP since that High Court order in 2004. Our suggestions on the Malleswaram underpass were not taken. So were our inputs on the Wheeler Road rail over bridge and the Mantri Greens apartments on Sampige Road, which is coming up where Raja Mills used to be," said Rohan D'Souza, convenor of Hasiru Usiru. According to the Act, every site should have a minimum number of trees and every hectare of vacant land at least 25 trees.

If the developers cannot plant trees themselves, they may remit the money with the Government, which will, in turn, direct the Forest Department to take up planting and maintaining the trees. "For instance, the developers of Canara Bank Layout deposited the money and we (Forest Department) have taken up planting of trees along the compound of the layout," he said, adding that this provision though is not being strictly implemented in the city.