Bengaluru's trees to now be managed by BBMP

The Forest Department's order essentially ends the department's jurisdiction over the trees in the city, except for those in notified forest areas

Bringing another twist in the administration of Bengaluru's green cover, the Forest Department has given the Deputy Conservator of Forests under the BBMP the full responsibility and powers to protect and manage the trees.

The BBMP DCF, as tree officer, had jurisdiction only on roadside trees and parks managed by the corporation till now.

The DCF for Bangalore Urban district, who reported to the Forest Department, managed the trees in public and private lands across the city.

The Forest Department's order dated June 13 essentially ends the department's jurisdiction over the trees in the city, except for those in the notified forest areas like Turahalli and Jarakabande.

"Only in matters related to reserved trees like rosewood, teak or sandalwood, the Bangalore Urban DCF will still have the powers. The same applies to wildlife matters," an official said, adding that the Horticulture Department will continue to look after Lalbagh and Cubbon Park.

Read | Tree census: Bengaluru can’t count on BBMP, forest dept

The BBMP DCF will now have powers to decide on matters related to requests for cutting of trees in the city. The Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act 1976, confers 10 other responsibilities, including tree census, on the tree officer.

"The idea of decentralisation of the governance is welcome. But the conflict of interest in the move is something we can't gloss over. Unlike the Bangalore Urban DCF, the BBMP DCF reports to the BBMP Commissioner under whose authority all the development projects are taken up," said activist Dattatraya T Devare, who has taken the BBMP to court over tree conservation.

"The question is, can the BBMP DCF resist pressure from his own bosses to cut the trees to build roads, bridges or other projects?"

Past experience shows that forest officers in the BBMP, who resisted pressure, were given punishment transfers.

In 2019, the Karnataka High Court ordered that a Tree Expert Committee shall review the requests for felling of trees after a petition by Devare said the BBMP had failed to protect the trees.

Rajani Santosh, another activist, said the BBMP DCF can succeed only when the corporation makes conservation of trees its core agenda, like building roads.

"The green cover of Bengaluru is already mismanaged. Given the past experience with BBMP, it may be hard to see any improvement unless they make protection of trees core agenda," she added.

To a question, Bangalore Urban DCF S S Ravishankar said he can't comment on administrative matters. "I have handed over the necessary files to the BBMP DCF," he said.

In BBMP, officials said the new order ends the confusion over jurisdiction. "Now, we have got a clarity on our responsibility. We have got enough funds and human resource to manage the trees in the city," a senior official said.