The three-member committee headed by Srinivas.C., Registrar (Evaluation) of Bangalore University has reported to the university that a ‘Bio Park’ has already been established on the land identified for the construction of the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering’s (UVCE) new campus at the Jnanabharathi campus and that no construction work or human activities are feasible at the site.
. “The land shall not be diverted to any other purpose, as bio-park play a crucial role in carbon sequestration and contribute significantly to ecological stability, diversity and achieving the sustainable development goals,” the report said.
The State Cabinet decided to set up UVCE, the State’s first autonomous institute on the IIT model, on 50 acres on the Jnanabharathi campus of Bengaluru University at an estimated cost of ₹500 crore on September 26, 2024. However, the university had already established a ‘Bio Park’ at the site identified for the construction 25 years ago and declared it as a protected land.
In this context, the university had constituted three member committee to study the pros and cons of undertaking construction work in the area.
“This part of the bio-park has been developed since 2015, along with natural vegetation associated with birds, insects, animals, and microbial diversity. More than 150 different tree species belonging to 58 different families have been recorded in the proposed 50-acre land for UVCE. Nearly 47 species recorded in the proposed area are listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) globally threatened red list species. A major feature of this area is its large (historical) sandalwood reserve, including red sandalwood with dense and naturally regenerating sandal wood trees with a height of more than 15 feet,” the report stated.
“This place has been developed for conservation of thousands of Western Ghat plant species with the help of several NGOs and philanthropists over past several years and if protected, it would be one of the biodiversity hotspots. Additionally, the area comprises several epiphytes, climbers, palms and thousands of different medicinal herbs, which are listed under the National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB) priorities list of medicinal plant cultivation,” the report reads.
Further the report said that, the proposed area is also a nest for 134 bird species including aquatic and terrestrial birds. The existing 32 species of flowering plants/trees belonging to 29 genera under 14 families are used for perching by birds. The campus has hundreds of peacocksand a total of 64 species of butterflies belonging to eight families.
In its conclusion, the report said that in accordance with National Forest Policy and University Grant Commission (UGC) guidelines of Nagar Vana Yojana, the land shall be preserved for biodiversity. “Further diversion of the biodiversity rich area is against Biodiversity Act 2004 and Environmental Protection Act 1986 of Government of India. The diversion of the said area would lead to serious ecological damage to the biodiversity not only in the proposed area but also in the adjacent and surrounding areas,” it explained.
No objection
University sources claimed that the varsity has no objection to the establishment of UVCE new campus at Jnanabharathi, which was earlier under the jurisdiction of Bangalore University. “This report is exaggerated and far from the facts. The university has decided not to submit this report to the government,” confirmed a university source.
Published – March 29, 2025 09:35 pm IST
