Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited report flags low survival of trees moved for Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project-2 | Bengaluru News
Bengaluru: When the removal of thousands of trees for the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) faced criticism from activists, the authorities vouched for transplanting as a remedy. But over three years down the line, less than half the trees replanted for Corridor 2 show signs of survival.The tree translocation quarterly report published by Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-Ride), the implementing agency of the project, earlier this month revealed that only 125 trees out of the 279 trees transplanted until Dec 2025 had survived. The trees were removed from their original locations following five official memoranda from the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) between Dec 2022 and July 2025.Except for the 12 trees translocated in 2025, the remaining 267 were planted around Yeshwantpur, within the CQAE Yeshwantpur Campus, Railway Colony, and quarters. According to the report, the trees did not survive due to translocation shock. Ecologists say such shocks are caused when trees do not adapt to the new environment.Among the tree varieties translocated were mahogany, tore matti, jamun, hebbevu, honge, raintree, benjamina, and sandal. Interestingly, during the last such translocation carried out in Sept 2025, all 12 trees did not show any signs of survival, with seasonal variations also contributing to this. This particular transplantation was done by an agency engaged by Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).“This is the first quarter following the translocation of trees in NPK Layout. The translocated trees will be monitored across all four seasons to assess their survival rate. All 12 trees were translocated. During this quarter, none of the trees showed survival symptoms due to translocation shock and seasonal variation,” the report stated.‘Avoid cutting them’Ecologist Harini Nagendra told TOI: “Basically, what you do is cut the roots and the branches while transporting, and then you pull them out of the soil and put them into the new soil. That whole process is for them to grow the roots and shoots again, and become accustomed to the new environment.” She also stressed that the first option should always be to avoid cutting trees, and the translocation process does not guarantee success despite consuming a lot of money.City-based civic activist Rajkumar Duggar expressed shock over the survival figures. “I’m really shocked at these figures; we wasted so much time and money on this. Even 95% survival is a failure, as you are losing a significant number of trees. K-Ride should drop this idea of transplanting,” he opined.K-Ride, however, maintained that tree translocation involves inherent biological risks, and survival largely depends on species characteristics, root adaptability, seasonal conditions, and post-translocation stress factors. “Most of the trees translocated were mature ones and a few species that do not adapt to translocation. The trees that were indigenous and young survived uprooting and translocation. Initially, 45–50% was the survival rate, but with the application of hormones and medicines and a scientific method of translocation, the survival rate has now gone up to 60–65%,” a K-Ride official said.The implementing agency also added that a total of 3,260 compensatory trees were planted on the GKVK campus, with maintenance activities, including watering, protection, and periodic monitoring, undertaken by the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s forest wing.GFXThe Survival GapTotal trees transplanted: 279 (up to Dec 2025) Total trees that survived: 125 Survival rate: 45%
