Bengaluru, a city renowned for its vibrant green spaces, is grappling with significant delays in its ongoing tree census, raising alarms among environmentalists and urban planners.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), tasked with conducting the census, has missed multiple deadlines, with the latest projection aiming for completion by July 2025. This delay threatens to undermine the city’s efforts to maintain its green cover amidst rapid urbanisation and infrastructure development. The tree census, initiated in February 2024 after a prolonged hiatus, aims to catalogue the city’s estimated 20 lakh trees. However, as of early 2025, only about 30% of this target has been achieved. The BBMP attributes the delays to technical glitches and contractor defaults, leading to a retendering of the project. Despite these challenges, officials express confidence in meeting the revised deadline.
Environmentalists, however, remain sceptical. They point to issues such as misidentification of tree species, missing entries, and duplicate records, which compromise the integrity of the data collected. The increasing number of trees classified under the ambiguous ‘others’ category further exacerbates concerns about the census’s accuracy. These discrepancies hinder effective monitoring and planning for the city’s green spaces. The lack of a comprehensive and accurate tree census impedes informed decision-making regarding urban development projects, including those that may require tree felling. Without reliable data, it becomes challenging to assess the environmental impact of such projects or to implement compensatory afforestation measures effectively.
In response to public demand for transparency, the BBMP plans to launch a mobile application and web portal to make the tree census data publicly accessible. This platform will allow citizens to view details of enumerated trees, including species, girth, age, and location, and to provide feedback on the data. The ongoing delays in the tree census underscore the need for a more robust and transparent approach to urban planning in Bengaluru. As the city continues to expand, it is imperative that environmental considerations are integrated into development processes to ensure a sustainable and livable urban environment for all residents.
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