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.
More,
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