''Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree,'' said 15th century German monk, Martin Luther. But the once-famed Garden City does not seem to have such citizens any more, as sapling after sapling planted to keep the streets tree-lined by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) every year, dies because there is no one to care for them.

The BBMP has set aside Rs 1 crore just to plant saplings along the roads of the city. Over and above this, the state budget has set aside Rs 20 crore to plant trees across the city via the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).

But BBMP officials themselves point out that they are  in desperate need of citizen support to maintain even the existing saplings. A source says that every year,  lakhs of saplings are planted within BBMP limits, but survival rate is hardly 10 per cent. ''In the last four years, 7.35 lakh saplings have been planted. The BBMP spends Rs 250 per seedling. From 2009-10, Rs 18.37 crore has been expended on planting saplings. But not more than 10 per cent have survived,'' he rues.

One of the reasons for the poor rate of survival is that the BBMP authorities are planting saplings in the off-season, either at the end of monsoon or after monsoon. But saplings are more often than not eaten by stray cattle, as there are insufficient tree guards to protect every sapling in the city.

Another problem is that even saplings with tree guards do not survive harsh summers with no one to water them, while in some places, tree guards are placed in such a bad manner that the sapling gets neither sunlight nor air (see box).

''We are in need for any kind of help that individuals or organisations can give us over the care of saplings. They can donate tree guards or maintain an entire stretch of their choice and we will give them credit for this. In BTM Layout and in other parts of South Bangalore, some people have come forward to maintain stretches of trees; we hope others also respond to our call,'' says Brijesh Kumar, chief  conservator of forests (BBMP).

Metal tree guards cost Rs 1,500 each and those installed in several places have been stolen.  BBMP has been wringing its hands trying to raise the money to get more. Further, sources point out that the BBMP's forest wing is terribly short-staffed, so guarding the trees or watering them is a near impossible task.

But the public feels that the responsibility of maintenance is not theirs. A senior professor from a college which has contributed tree guards to BBMP  says they have put up metal guards as part of their social responsibility.  "But guards are stolen during the night and sold to scrap dealers. Our job is not to protect the guards, we just donated them," he contends.

The professor also points out that  BBMP has put the name of their  college on the guards. "Some of the plants  dried. It is  the duty of BBMP to water them. With the name of our college on the guard, the public thinks that we are not maintaining them. We wanted to take up more of such initiatives, but because of these reasons, we are hesitant to take up any,'' he adds.

Noted environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy however feels that maintaining saplings and trees is entirely the duty of the BBMP. "If they do not have sufficient people to take care of the saplings, trees or tree guards, let them outsource the task. Let them give it to private contractors who should water the plants and maintain guards. If any plant dries, they should make sure to replace another plant from the same species," he says. Reddy rues that the existing trees are also struggling to survive in Bangalore. ''The density of population is high and an enormous number of vehicles hit the road, causing injury to plants and trees which has become common," Reddy adds.

At present, around 15 organisations have provided tree guards on some of the roads. Some of them include educational institutions in central  Bangalore and some IT companies in Bommanahalli and Mahadevapura zones.

BBMP, however, is beating the old drum and is hoping for public support.

A senior official says, "Individuals and organisations can even select number of plants, type of guards- metal or bamboo --  that they want to support with. We are ready to give them technical know-how, link them to tree guard manufacturers, etc. We are ready to give upto 500 free seedlings for institutions and upto 50 for an individual to maintain,'' he says.

Those interested can contact, 080-23612201