More than 150 years after the last big lung space was created in Bengaluru, the State government on Friday approved setting up of Vishwaguru Basavanna Biodiversity Park in North Bengaluru with an initial funding of ₹50 crore.
The new lung space on an area of 153 acres currently has acacia and eucalyptus plantation, which will be in phases replaced by medicinal plants and native trees.
“The dream of having a large lung space in northern part of Bengaluru is more than a-decade-and-a-half old. Finally, the government has agreed to fund ₹50 crore in the first phase while the overall project would cost about ₹250 crore. Many companies have also come forward to provide funds under the CSR activities,” Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre told presspersons after the Cabinet approved the project.
Earlier lung spaces
While the first botanical garden Lalbagh was laid in 1760 on an area of 240 acres, the work on Cubbon Park, another big lung space, on an area of 194 acres started in 1870.
