Bengaluru: After several years of delay in carrying out the tree census in the city, the BBMP has once again postponed it, citing various reasons.
First, they said that the census was being postponed because of the election code of conduct. A senior BBMP officer said, "The election code of conduct is one of the reasons, but the prime factor is that we did not get enough volunteers to assist the officials in carrying out the tree census and we had to postpone it."
Another reason was also lack of funds. "For 2019-20, the BBMP budget had allocated Rs 2 crore for the census, but the state government did not release the funds and we have no money to start it. For the past couple of years, there were funds allocated for the tree census, but when no officer showed interest, they were diverted for other programmes and projects," he said.
"Also, we had invited volunteers to help the officials, but no one showed interest. The people should also join hands to carry out the census, because it will be more transparent and efficient. When the public is involved, officials will ensure that the census is conducted properly. But no one is showing interest. We got a few volunteers, but it is not enough to cover the entire BBMP zone," the officer said.
He said that they will once again call for volunteers after the elections results and hope to get a better response.
Another officer said that if they don't get sufficient volunteers, then they will call for tenders from private organisations, who can help them carry out the census.
