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BDA to create website to monitor 15 lakh saplings
The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has floated a short-term tender to build a website that will provide live updates on the health of 15 lakh saplings planted during its Guinness World Record…
The Story in Brief
The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has floated a short-term tender to build a website that will provide live updates on the health of 15 lakh saplings planted during its Guinness World Record drive on June 27. The portal will display weekly maintenance records, GPS locations, NGO details, and a public complaint system. A month after the drive, the BDA claimed over 90% of saplings were thriving, with 279 sites healthy and 27 distressed. Citizens and environmentalists had questioned whether the record-setting event was a one-day affair. The BDA says the portal aims to rebuild public trust by making maintenance transparent and verifiable. NGOs and residents can also adopt sites or volunteer through the platform.
The Indian Opinion
The BDA's portal is a welcome step, but the real test is whether it will be updated regularly and honestly. Critics who called the record drive a one-day stunt have a point, past plantation drives have vanished without trace. Yet dismissing the effort entirely ignores the geotagging and NGO adoption already in place. The question is not whether the website exists, but whether citizens can independently verify that 90% survival claim. Will the portal show the same data the BDA reports, or will it allow genuine third-party checks?
Sources (2): deccanherald.com, thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
