BBMP to spend ₹3,100 per plant!

•  3.4 crore in STRR scheme
•  ₹21.36 crore for plantation in zones

Expensive expenditure on plantation by BBMP; ₹24 crore cost

BBMP  to spend ₹3,100 per plant!

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ 

 Bengaluru: BBMP plans to spend ₹3,100 for each sapling in the city's afforestation project. In another project, tenders have been invited to spend ₹1,800 per sapling.

 ₹3.4 crore will be spent on planting 10,900 saplings on both sides of the Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR), which will be constructed on the outskirts of the city between Dabasapete and Doddabelavangala. Each sapling will cost ₹3,100 and the contractors who planted the saplings will have to maintain them for the next five years.

 In another project, the forest department has invited tenders for planting and maintaining zone-wise trees in BBMP for three years. A total of 1,13,500 saplings will be planted in 27 works. It is decided to spend ₹21.36 crore for this. ₹1,800 per sapling is being spent on this project.

 It is said that the cost of protecting, fertilizing and watering the saplings is also included in this maintenance. However, even if the management is very high in the private sector, half of what the corporation spends is not spent. However, the BBMP, unable to save even 50% of the already planted trees, has started looting in the name of afforestation. It has been shown that lakhs of saplings have been planted by students in the name of green protection. But, in reality, half of them are languishing without maintenance.

Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises (K-RAID) has already released ₹8 crore to the BBMP Forest Department to plant saplings, as trees will be cleared from its project. However, the forest department has not planted any saplings in this regard.

 Swamy, Deputy Conservator of Forests, did not receive a call when tried to contact him for a comment on the exorbitant expenditure.