BBMP starts ‘tree transplantation’ in Bengaluru

The city of Bengaluru is going tree transplantation. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) – the urban local body – has begun the transplantation of trees to make way for widening of city roads in a “scientific manner”.

 The projects with tree planting approach – 2.5 km Jayamahal Road from Mekhri Circle to Contronment Bridge and the signal-free initiative at HAL Airport Road – have been taken up. According to BBMP officials, “We are transplanting trees. This is the ideal time for transplantation as Bengalore is witnessing rains.”

We are transplanting 42 trees in the first phase, said BS Prahlad, Chief Engineer (Major Roads), BBMP.

Tree Plantation

Tree planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purpose. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less reliable distribution of tree seeds.

 In silviculture, the activity is known as reforestation, or afforestation, depending on whether the area being planted has or has not recently been forested. It involves planting seedlings over an area of land where the forest has been harvested or damaged by fire, disease or human activity.

  Tree planting is carried out in many different parts of the world, and strategies may differ widely across nations and regions and among individual reforestation companies. Tree planting is grounded in forest science, and if performed properly can result in the successful regeneration of a deforested area. Reforestation is the commercial logging industry’s answer to the large-scale destruction of old growth forests, but a planted forest rarely replicates the biodiversity and complexity of a natural forest.

 Because trees remove carbon dioxide from the air as they grow, tree planting can be used as a geoengineering technique to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Desert greening projects are also motivated by improved biodiversity and reclamation of natural water systems, but also improved economy and social welfare due to increased number of jobs in farming and forestry.

Septmeber Deadline

Though the proposal to widen the Jayamahal Road from Mehkri Circle to Cantonment Bridge is pending for two years, the fate of 112 trees on Jayamahal Road and 260 on Ballari Road has been a stumbling block. The High Court of Karnataka had set September as deadline for the BBMP to widen Jayamahal Road, along with a 2-km stretch of Ballari Road between Mehkri Circle and BDA junction.

The BBMP had scheduled to start widening in 2011. But yielding to protests, some trees were left and concreted in the middle of the partially-widened road. The proposal would integrate the acquired portion of the Palace Grounds with the existing four-lane road.

Hope is back for greenary and space for road users.