68 trees transplanted for road widening by BBMP

68 trees transplanted for road widening by BBMP
Wednesday September 26 2007 14:11 IST

Express News Service

BANGALORE: Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Dr S Subramanya on Tuesday said that there are over 30 lakh trees in the City.

Of them, 63 fell naturally, while 60 were axed for various reasons during premonsoon showers.

Speaking at the training programme on tree plantation for Forest, Horticulture Department officers and BBMP project engineers, organised by BBMP and Bangalore Environment Trust (BET), he said that the civic agency has transplanted around 68 trees to various premises like Manekshaw Parade Ground, Taj West End Campus and other parks and public utility buildings.

He pointed that everyday around 900 vehicles are registered in City RTOs and every three months the vehicle population has been increasing by a lakh.

‘‘There are over 14 lakh families with over 40 lakh vehicles. The BBMP has initiated road widening works in 85 roads and widening of 10 more is underway. Trees which are planted on either side of roads will be transplanted to various public and private places, for which support and cooperation of people, NGOs and other organisations is essential,’’ said Dr Subramanya.

Speaking on the occasion, Former Secretary to Government, Department of Forests and Ecology and BET Trustee Dr A N Yellappa Reddy said that the Tree Act was introduced in the year 1976 and Karnataka was the first state to implement it.

He pointed that apart from Cubbon Park and Lal Bagh, Jnanabharathi campus is the largest bio-diversity spot amidst urban environment.

‘‘People should plant trees and ensure that the lung spaces in the City are retained. Mere solar energy is not sufficient for trees to grow, cosmic energy and positive thinking is also important,’’ added Reddy.

BET Chairman Captain S Prabala explaining the Mumbai plan, which is implementing the Tree Act, said that protection and conservation were effectively implemented in the state from January 2007.

The concept of transplanting trees was introduced during May and June where nine trees from MG Road were translocated to Manekshaw Parade Ground, playgrounds and parking spaces.

‘‘Apart from this a standard operation system for the same is important. It’s important to know where trees should be translocated, a pilot study should be conducted to know the viability of the translocation, institutionalisation and shifting,’’ he said.

BBMP Additional Commissioner (Projects) K R Srinivas, BET Trustee Zafar Futehally, Administrator and BET Trustee G Govardhan, Horticulture Consultant, Taj West End Hotel S V L Prasad were also present on the occasion.