How Green Was My City

Ironically, in a city with the sobriquet of ‘Garden City of India’, we see destruction of the very verdure that earned its fame.

In 2018, a study titled “Green to gray: Silicon Valley of India” was published by researchers from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and Indian Institute of Science.  The study concluded that “Analyses of multi resolution remote sensing data reveals that built-up has increased from 7.97% (in 1973) to 58.33% (2012) in Bangalore. The dense vegetation cover of 68.27% (in 1973) has declined to less than 25% (in 2012).”

While we are yet to compute the GVI of Bengaluru, the change is visible and the impact evident at all levels. The Parisian government is making an effort to boost greenery by planting 20,000 new trees in the city by 2020. On the other hand, Bengaluru Development Authority has not planted a single sapling for 2017-18 and in 2018-19. The last update on the BBMP Forest Planting Progress report is for the year 2016-17. In addition, thousands of trees have been affected by mobility projects and this includes Mango, Neem, Gulmohar, Ashok, Jamun, Peepal and Honge trees.  Ashoka and Mango trees are two varieties that are known to effectively remove dust from air. We see many reports of hundreds of trees planted for every one that was affected, but BBMP has admitted that they do not have any details of where these were planted and how many actually survived.

On an average, Bengaluru has one tree for every 7 persons when 32 to 55 trees per person in a region is required to exclusively mitigate respiratory CO₂ (World Health Organization). The increase in social and health related issues due to environmental degradation is well documented.

The presence of green areas, parks, and trees improve the quality of healthy living. It provides air quality though absorption of polluting gases and particles which are responsible for respiratory infections. But, the most perhaps the most benefits of green areas in a community are the social and psychological benefits. Eventually, all the above contribute to better quality of life and long term sustenance.

Trees absorb heat and noise to improve the quality of life. The size and extent of the canopy play an important role in this role. When we look at many of the trees that were planted many decades ago, we can clearly see that the roads that are covered by trees on both sides are the coolest and also air feels fresher. Some well-known examples are the stretch of RV Road from South End Circle, Kasturba Road from Kempegowda Tower past Kanteerava Stadium, Margosa and Sampige Roads in Malleshwaram. The last named examples signify the importance of trees as both are named after types of trees that were grown extensively in these and other localities. Roads that were planned and laid in the past had substantial space for pedestrians and trees to co-exist. There was adequate space for trees to spread roots.

With the rampant urbanization comes increasing vehicle traffic and the pressure to widen roads. This has resulted in double impact to tree cover. The main sources of pollution in the city are the exponential growth in the number of vehicles, contributing to almost 50% of the pollution. When roads are widened due to myopic public policy, the first victims are trees. Due to increase in pollution and pruning or complete cutting of trees, public health has deteriorated. Particle Air Pollution has increased beyond safe limits taking a big toll on health of the residents – notably due to respiratory infections.

As construction spreads its tentacles farther and wider expanding the boundaries of the city like the universe, one wonders if it shares the same prediction of imploding one day.  As an example, take a look at the erosion of green cover in these two images of the same Bellandur-Agara area taken about 15 years apart.