Bengaluru: Metro fails to implement its green plan

Bengaluru: The BMRCL has violated its own Environment Management Plan (EMP) where it had promised to turn all the piers on the 42-km metro rail green by growing exotic creepers and runners. Instead it has gone for advertisement boards to ring in the money!

While MG Road Boulevard issue is still reminiscent of protests and placards when Namma Metro authorities moved bulldozers and cranes in 2007 to flatten the lovely boulevard, the greens will further turn red reading this.

During the heightened clash between the green warriors and Namma Metro, a committee was set up under the chairmanship of Yellappa Reddy, Environment Secretary, to asses the damage to environment and roll out plans to limit the damage caused by metro.

Accordingly, the EMP was drafted which proposed ornamental flower bearing shrubs that can be grown under shade like Lxora, Tuja, Cycas, Bixa, Plumeria, Bottle Brush, Sheflera, Mussanda, Vica Rosea, Solarum among others. This was one of the promises to the protestors along with translocation of massive trees that were uprooted from boulevard, which didn’t survive either.  

Nine years after the EMP kicked in, which acts as a reference for BMRC on environmental issues, the report is gathering dust and on ground things have turned out the opposite. To capitalize on space and optimize the revenue, the BMRC has auctioned all the space available – stations, parking areas, landings at the stations and piers.

A retired bureaucrat, who was associated with the BMRC, has dashed off a letter to current MD on the issue asking him to honour the EMP as promised to Bengalureans.

He told DC that everything was well planned. “The piers were supposed flower round the year, as we had planned four to eight types of creepers and runners. Automatic watering pumps were also planned. I am disappointed to see advertisements in place of the greenery. The idea was to at least compensate to a little extent for the loss of green cover,” he said.

We need ads for survival: Vasanthrao, BMRCL spokesperson
We did try to grow creepers, but it turned out to be a huge maintenance issue, although we have gone for bougainvillea on the Magadi Road stretch.

Earlier there was no plan for medians below the viaducts, but now since we are building them we are growing plants which will compensate for the creepers. As for advertisements boards, we need to be viable economically too since it’s a corporation.

We get Rs123 crore annually and once entire Phase I is completed, the revenue will double. We have loans to service so we need to optimize revenue and we cannot turn it into a sick corporation.

What creepers? There’s only visual pollution: Dr A.N. Yellappa Reddy, Former Environment Secretary
The elements such as cements, steel etc., introduced in huge quality to the urban ecosystem by the BMRCL is now causing an increase in the ground level temperature. Also everyday from 10 am to 4 pm the sunlight, un burnt hydrocarbons from the vehicles and nitrogen oxides together produce a secondary pollutant called Ground Level Ozone.

This is so deadly that it can cause serious damage to the eyes, heart, lungs etc. Keeping this in mind, we suggested, back in 2008 that biological intervention i.e. to plant climbers and creepers and cover the concrete pillars of Metro so that the impact could be mitigated.

But, the authorities seem to have neglected our suggestions and all we see now is visual pollution i.e. huge advertisement. When the ecosystem is already degrading the Metro authorities should take such suggestions seriously.