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Bengaluru held a large-scale afforestation drive on Saturday, June 27, with 15 lakh saplings planted across multiple parts of the city. The initiative drew volunteers from resident groups, professionals, civic workers, and others.
Timed with Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Jayanti, the drive is being presented as both a symbolic celebration and a greening mission. The aim is to plant 15 lakh saplings across 243–245 acres of land in 12 hours and attempt a Guinness World Record. The citywide greening campaign hopes to create dense urban forest patches and improve Bengaluru’s green cover.
Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) chairman NA Haris interacted with volunteers as the plantation drive progressed. It is being carried out under the broader Green Bengaluru and Bengaluru Urban Ecological Restoration Mission 2026-30 framework, with BDA officials describing it as more than a one-day plantation exercise.
The effort is being supported by a mix of government departments, NGOs, and corporates, with maintenance funding and CSR-linked partnerships forming part of the long-term model. The BBMP also deployed their entire sanitation worker team to assist with the plantation work.
The drive is spread across BDA layouts and ecological zones, including Dr Shivaram Karanth Layout, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout, and Banashankari Sixth Stage, as well as lake bunds, stormwater drains, parks, and roadside stretches.
When asked what prompted him to take part in the drive, Prasaanth Ramesh, one of the volunteers, told TNM, “I have a five-year-old, and I needed to inculcate the importance of planting trees in him and show him how trees play a significant role in maintaining the balance in our environment. Bringing him to the event has kindled in him an interest in plants. He was very happy when he dug holes for the saplings and planted them.”
Another participant, Padmashree, told TNM, “I was born and brought up in Bengaluru. I’ve seen Bengaluru when it was rightfully called the Garden City. I wanted to make the city green again by whatever means possible from my end. This seemed to be a wonderful opportunity for me to do that.”
She added that planting trees should not be restricted to large public drives. “It’s one of the ways. I feel like whenever we reach a personal milestone and have something to celebrate, we can plant a sapling in a nearby park or something like that,” she said.
At the Banashankari Sixth Stage layout, another volunteer Mohan said his motivation came from both professional values and civic duty. “As a Chartered Accountant and a responsible citizen of Bengaluru, I believe that protecting the environment is a shared responsibility. Planting a tree is a small action, but its impact lasts for generations. When the Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association and the Bengaluru Development Authority came together for this Green Bengaluru Initiative, I felt it was my duty to participate. We often speak about sustainability in our profession, and today we are putting those values into action,” he said.
Officials have said the effort is designed to create dense urban forest patches and long-term green pockets rather than conventional avenue plantations. The drive is being supervised through a zone-based system, with each zone assigned a commander to manage execution and coordination on the ground.
The drive follows a Miyawaki-style approach, which involves dense, layered planting intended to accelerate forest growth and improve ecological resilience.
Officials have said the sapling mix includes nearly 350 varieties of native and medicinal species.
The saplings cost around Rs 59 each, totalling around Rs 9.3 crore. The total project expenditure has been reported at roughly Rs 18 crore, while a larger CSR-linked funding structure of about Rs 70 crore has been cited for land preparation, execution, and maintenance.
Officials stressed that the real test will be survival of the trees and not just planting numbers. The BDA has assured that maintenance will continue for three years and will include watering, fencing, mulching, de-weeding, replacement planting, and plant protection.
As the day continues to unfold, organisers will need to see whether the Guinness World Record attempt will ultimately be achieved.
This story was written by a student interning with TNM.