“Every single tree is important,” stated residents of Whitefield in Bengaluru in a letter, after having prevented 14 trees from being cut by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). For the construction of new drains under the road development project, the BBMP had marked eight Ashoka trees and six other trees growing on the crossroad of ECC Road in Whitefield. In a letter addressed to the concerned authorities on July 13, the residents called for a change in the alignment plan in order to protect the trees. On the same day, the BBMP complied with the request and cancelled the felling of the marked trees.
Noting that the concerned trees have been nurtured and cared for by the residents for almost seven years, the letter was addressed to BBMP’s Chief Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner of Forests, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Zonal Commissioner of Mahadevpura, among others. “We are opposed to the cutting of any of these trees. We request the engineers to take adequate steps to change the alignment of the road plan, so that the trees do not have to be damaged or killed,” the letter stated. The letter, which was signed by over 30 residents, highlighted that development should not necessarily mean the destruction of green cover, and urged the authorities to act on the issue.
Following the letter, the contractor who was in charge of the tree cutting communicated the good news to the residents. As per Namma Whitefield, a federation of residents, the authorities had taken cognisance of the issue and revoked the order of cutting the marked trees while also altering the plan. “The letter was submitted by the citizens itself and then the contractor came back and confirmed that the trees wouldn’t be cut,” said Sandeep Anirudhan, Founder, Namma Bengaluru. "Yes, we received the letter and have decided to not go ahead with cutting the trees. The intention was not to disturb anyone. We are now working as per the altered plan," Devudu, Assistant Engineer of Garudacharpalya ward, told TNM.
TREE LOVE PREVAILS, SAVES 8 TREES!
— Namma Whitefield (@NammaWhitefield) July 19, 2021
BBMP initiates Road works on ECC Road, Whitefield, marks trees for removal.
Alert Residents get wind, submit petition to BBMP, road plan gets altered to save trees.
Win-win 4 nature, infrastructure & residents. #ParticipatoryGovernance pic.twitter.com/QsgjUsMSYr
Geetha Reddy, a resident who was actively involved in the initiative, told TNM that the altered plan is expected to leave out the particular stretch of road with the trees. “It was a very quick response from the authorities once all residents in the neighbourhood signed and submitted the letter,” she said. “We were prepared to take up the matter and contact higher officials if needed. Every tree adds to the city’s green cover and small-scale citizen involvement goes a long way to prevent the already fast-paced loss of trees,” Geetha added.