Bengaluru: BBMP tree census to go on till October; 2.5 lakh recorded since January

While the officials expect that the city houses close to 20 lakh trees, counting of only 10% of trees is completed and is expected to gain momentum now.

Bengaluru: Tree census in Bengaluru, which was expected to conclude by August after years of delay has been pushed yet again with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) extending the deadline till October. 

The census, which started in January, has so far enumerated close to 2.5 lakh trees across 54 wards. 

While the officials expect that the city houses close to 20 lakh trees, counting of only 10 per cent of trees is completed and is expected to gain momentum now. BBMP officials said that technical glitches in the application used to record the census data along with extreme weather conditions impacted the progress and hence the deadline had to be extended.

“Initially, there was a delay since there were some technical glitches in the application that was designed to record the data. Now, the application is stabilised and more teams have been deployed to complete the census at the earliest,” said BLG Swamy, BBMP’s deputy conservator of forest (DCF).

Yet another official added that extreme temperature during summer also kept the census teams away from work for a while in April and May.

“Since they have to go on ground and record the details, it was a little difficult during summer,” the official said. 

According to the census data recorded so far, RR Nagar and South zone have the highest number of trees.

The surveyors record the girth of every tree, assign an ID to the tree and note down specific details such as the exact location, species of tree, and the tree’s condition (if it is dry or old). 

Swamy opined that the census data could be crucial for BBMP to prevent illegal felling of trees in the city and also provide a scientific backing to decide where the plantation drives should be focused.

“Since we will have data on all the trees, it will help us identify any missing trees easily,” he said. 

Officials also added that it will help determine if tree felling permissions can be given in a particular area depending on the tree cover. 

In 2020, the Karnataka High Court had tasked the BBMP to take up tree census and had given a three-year deadline. However, citing various reasons, BBMP delayed the process and began the survey only in January 2024.