Minister Krishna Byre Gowda Blasts BBMP Over Rs 3,300 Sapling Costs, Missing Trees, and Dog Sterilization Data Gaps

BBMP Officials Arrive Empty-Handed, Minister Furious

Bengaluru, June 30: Urban Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda publicly reprimanded BBMP officials at a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) review meeting, targeting two major civic failures: the city's tree plantation programme and the stray dog sterilization drive.

Officials from the Animal Husbandry department arrived at the meeting without any data, drawing sharp rebuke from the minister. "With 19 officials in the department, you couldn't bring even basic numbers to the minister's meeting?" he demanded. When officials gave incoherent answers about why the dog population hasn't declined despite two decades of sterilization, the minister shot back: "How is it possible that after 20 years of sterilization the dog count is still the same? Do you think I'm sitting here with cotton in my ears?"

More Sterilizations Than Dogs That Exist

At a press conference after the meeting, the minister laid out the data anomalies. He said officials told him that 8.80 lakh dogs had been sterilized since BBMP was constituted, and a further 3.33 lakh between 2016 and 2023. Yet the 2019 city survey counted only 3.10 lakh stray dogs, and the 2023 survey found 2.79 lakh — meaning the cumulative sterilizations claimed far exceed the total number of dogs ever surveyed.

"Public tax money keeps being spent, but the dog population keeps growing. Officials have no satisfactory explanation," the minister said. Rs 42 crore has been spent on the programme over the last five years alone. He has directed officials to double the monthly sterilization count, upgrade infrastructure, invite NGOs and other organisations to assist, and outsource procedures if in-house medical staff is insufficient.

'Where Did the 20 Lakh Planted Saplings Go?'

The minister was equally scathing about the tree planting programme. "They claim 20 lakh trees have been planted since 2008. But when I asked how many appear in the tree census, they themselves say there are only 9 lakh trees in the city. So where did the other 11 lakh planted saplings go?" he asked.

He then walked through the per-sapling cost structure:

• General sapling cultivation: Rs 2,300
• Under the urban forestry programme: Rs 3,300 total
  • Pit digging: Rs 300
  • Watering: Rs 1,064
  • Tree guard: Rs 452
  • Plus 3-year maintenance costs

Specifications require each pit to be 2.5 feet deep and 2.5 feet wide. "I have not seen this being followed anywhere in my own constituency," the minister said. Saplings on footpaths and medians appear to have been placed superficially on the surface, with no proper pits dug. He alleged the Rs 300 earmarked for pit digging is being directly pocketed by officials.

Demands for Transparency and Accountability

Officials were unable to answer how many trees BBMP (and its predecessor, BMP) has planted over the last 20 years, how frequently a tree census is conducted, or whether newly planted trees are showing up in census counts. The minister expressed strong displeasure at the waste of public funds and called for far greater transparency and accountability in both programmes.