Bengaluru: At the inaugural public consultation meeting for the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) held on Friday, participants voiced significant concerns regarding the loss of green cover and urged the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-Ride) to establish an in-house team dedicated to compensatory afforestation. This move aims to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of reforestation efforts.
The attendees criticised K-Ride’s dependency on the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for compensatory afforestation, arguing that BBMP’s existing forest cell is understaffed and ill-equipped to manage the task efficiently. K-Ride plans to cut down 32,572 trees to make way for the 148 km project spanning four corridors, prompting calls for a more proactive approach.
Citizens underscored that afforestation efforts should not be limited to the outskirts of the city or neighbouring districts, as such measures would not compensate for the urban green cover loss. They recommended involving citizen groups in the afforestation process and ensuring transparency by publicly disseminating information about the number of saplings planted and their survival rates.
Several participants suggested prioritising the long-delayed project and emphasised the importance of the KSR Bengaluru – Devanahalli line, which would connect the city to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), and the expansion of the network to suburban areas.
Dattatreya Devare of the Bangalore Environment Trust highlighted the staffing issues within the BBMP forest cell, stating, “The BBMP forest cell has operated with half the sanctioned staff for many years. Without adequate personnel, how will they manage compensatory afforestation? I urge K-Ride to form its own team to oversee this crucial task.”
Green activists echoed this sentiment, advocating for K-Ride to take ownership of the afforestation process. One activist noted, “K-Ride should set an example by taking up ownership. There should be proper dissemination of information about the areas identified for planting saplings, the number of trees, and timely updates on the survival of saplings in the public domain.”
A resident of Thanisandra pointed out the inefficacy of planting trees far from the city, stating, “Instead of looking for land space for afforestation in distant places, the agencies should identify empty land spaces at the ward level. Each ward should have biodiversity hotspots. What is the point of cutting trees in city areas and planting them somewhere else?”
The meeting highlighted the community’s strong preference for localised, transparent, and well-monitored afforestation efforts, urging K-Ride to lead by example and ensure the project does not compromise Bengaluru’s environmental health.
