Eco lovers can take heart as the much awaited tree census is set to begin in the city from March 17 after a gap of several years. It is expected to help the authorities keep a count of the trees and stop their illegal felling or poisoning.
Going by a senior officer in the BBMP’s forest department, it has been working with “tree doctor,” Vijay Nishanth of project Vruksha and other environmentalist on the tree census. The focus is currently on developing a mobile phone application to help in carrying it out. Once ready, the app will help officials in taking pictures of the trees, describe their features and current condition and tag their location in real time to create a database for future reference.
“Though this data, we will get know where and what kind of trees there are in the city. People usually complain that when a tree is felled there is no trace left of it. But this census will help us keep tabs on the trees,” the officer adds.
The BBMP appears to be banking on the app as it does not have the required manpower to maintain or monitor the city’s trees. “We need strict rules to save our green cover as otherwise it will be wiped out in a few years. We need more funds to keep the census going. For now we have received '2 crore out of the allotted money, but we will need more and will request the government and mayor to sanction it as and when required,” he says.
Welcoming the census, Ms Nirupa Rao, an interior designer, hopes it will create more awareness about the need to conserve the city’s green cover among Bengalureans. “Most are not aware of what a tree census is. But it will help them get to know more about the city’s green cover, which is depleting at an alarming rate,” she says, suggesting that both the BBMP and environmentalists should also educate the people on protecting the city’s trees.
Mr Shashank Prasad, a financial analyst from the city, blames the rising humidity and heat during summer on its depleting tree cover and hopes the census will be able to put a figure on the loss. “Earlier, we had so may trees that the heat would be absorbed. But now with the rising population and large number of vehicles on the road, they are disappearing fast. The tree census will tell us what is left and what we should do about it, “ he adds hopefully.
