URBAN ENVIRONMENT IN BANGALORE

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Urban environment is affected in large cities due to too many concrete structures, non-development of new parks and play grounds, neglect of tree planting, improper collection and disposal of solid waste, air, water, and noise pollution, etc. People are suffering from non-communicable diseases due to degradation of environment. Various problems faced for improving environment in Bangalore is explained in this article.

Parks and open spaces:

Parks and open spaces required at the city level is 10% of the urbanisable area. Master plans of the city reserved 10% of the urbanisable area required for the next ten years. But due to non-implementation of this provision by BDA and BBMP, and unauthorized developments in the area reserved without effective development control, the reserved area for parks and open spaces is not available to the citizens.

The areas reserved for parks and open spaces in the BDA extensions and enforced in layouts of housing societies and other private layouts are not developed for a number of years and left as vacant lands where garbage and debris are dumped. Even trees are not planted in the parks reserved / enforced. During nineteen eighties, this matter was considered by Government and after several discussions with the BDA, the City Corporation, Agriculture and Forest Departments, it was decided to hand over all the parks in extensions and the park areas reserved in private layouts to the Green Belt Division of the Forest Department for growing trees. Even Forest Department has the park areas handed over to them by BDA.

Parks are required ill the localities as lung spaces and for people to walk, jog, and exercise. In the absence of developed parks, people walk along the roads. Lalbagh and Cubbon Park developed before Independence, 63 years back, are the only city level parks available in the city with about 8.5 million citizens. 

Bangalore Palace area which was reserved as the third major city level park in the successive master plans of Bangalore and acquired by Government under the Urban Land Ceiling & Regulation Act is allowed to continue under the control of the Maharaja's family, and other private agencies who have taken the lands from the Maharaja's family.

Unauthorized buildings have come up in the Bangalore Palace area covering about 400 acres. Citizens are denied the third city level park that would have benefited the posh locality of Palace Orchard and other localities like; Kumara Park, Vasanthnagar, Benson Town, Jayamahal, etc.

Regional parks proposed in the Master Plan on the four sides of the city covering hills and valleys are also not implemented.

About play grounds, it is a horrible situation. Children are forced to play on the roads in the localities and on terrace of apartments. The fatal accident of a boy falling from the terrace of Imperial Court Apartment on Cunningham Road, during October 2010 is one example. In the earlier days, the civic bodies and their officials were people friendly and play grounds used to be provided in all the localities. The schools had playgrounds for children to play. At present, Government and the civic agencies have no interest in providing schools. With the increase in land values, schools run by private sector have no play grounds. Important facility of play grounds is not available to children in the cities nearer to their houses.

BDA, BBMP, and the Horticulture Department have failed in their duties to provide parks and play grounds in the city. 

Natural valleys:

Topography of a city area enables draining the rain water to the natural valleys which feed the lakes and rivers with rain water. But this is disturbed by improper planning by BDA and local bodies, and by encroachments. This is the reason for flooding of localities during heavy rains. BDA and earlier the City Improvement Board used to plan their extensions based on revenue survey number maps and not on the basis of the natural terrain. An attempt was therefore made in the Master Plan- 2015 of Bangalore, to show open margins for natural valleys under parks and open spaces. This has helped BBMP and BDA authorities to enforce the margins in the building plans. The margins prescribed are 50 meters, 25 meters, and 15 meters along primary, secondary, and tertiary valleys. If the enforcement is sincerely done at least in the new developments, rain water will flow to the lakes without obstruction by structures.

It is suggested that trees are to be planted in such valley margins to be surrendered by the developers to the local body. The trees to be planted in the valley margins will avoid encroachments and will enable improvement of environment.

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