Hesaraghatta – the story of saving Bangalore’s last remaining grassland

The Hesaraghatta grasslands campaign is a story that reflects the resilience, patience and power of citizen participation.  It is a campaign that came to us after many years of efforts put in by thousands of citizens. The victory of this campaign took over two decades to come to reality and the consistent efforts of more than 79,000 people who signed our petition. The momentum of this citizens’ movement which was made possible with the efforts of multiple organisations and groups of people left the Karnataka government no choice but to declare Hesaraghatta as a conservation reserve. 

The Hesaraghatta grassland is a unique ecosystem that is home to over 235 species of birds, some of them listed as endangered or vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, over 400 species of insects, and 100 species of butterflies including the very rare Lilac Silverline. Among all these species, 39 plant species, 10 mammals, five reptiles, 133 birds, one amphibian, three spiders and 14 species of butterflies are native to the land.  This documentation of the flora and fauna was painstakingly done by Prof. Subbramanya S (Retd) and later augmented by citizen science efforts of the birdwatchers of the city.

2004
Photographer Mahesh Bhat, who had just then moved to Hesaraghatta began a project to restore the catchment of Hesaraghatta reservoir. At the same time, various citizen groups came together to rejuvenate the catchment areas of Arkavathy in Doddaballapur, Aradeshahalli, Hessaraghatta and Nelamangalla; together, they formed the Arkavathy Kumudvathy Nadi Punaschetana Samiti (AKNPS).  They fought tirelessly against polluting industries, desilted canals and lobbied with the government to raise awareness about the river basin areas for the next few years.

2009

On February 6th, AKNPS finally managed to get a meeting with the legislature of Arkavathy basin, at his home near Vidhana Soudha.  They spoke to him about the ecological importance of the area and the need to preserve it.

2011

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), without knowledge of the grassland ecosystem planted close to 1 lakh tree saplings in the area as a part of their Namma Hasiru Maale (Our Green Garland) programme.  This cost the government Rs. 140 per sapling and resulted in close to 30,000 pits being dug in almost 200 acres of prime grassland with a bulldozer. However, as pointed out by Mahesh Bhatt, this move by the government did more harm to the fragile ecosystem, than good.

2012

On July 17, 2012, a Rs 25 crore rejuvenation plan was sanctioned by the government, which was then led by Sri DV Sadananda Gowda. The work for this began on the dry side of the lake.

Later that year, the state government announced that they would be interested in building a film city in the area, on 345 grasslands of Hesaraghatta to be exact. This, despite stating time and again that the region was a catchment for the lake. To stop this, AKNPS filed a PIL in the Karnataka High Court against this idea. 

2013

This pushed photographer and conservationist Mahesh Bhat to draft a proposal in collaboration with conservationist Ramki Srinivasan, ornithologist M B Krishna, and KS Seshadri to declare the areas a conservation reserve, which was submitted to the Karnataka Forest Department. The proposal, however, was a result of many years of work that conservationists had already put into this cause, going back to 2004. This included regularly meeting with officials, residents and other conservationists. Following up with the State Wildlife Board. In fact, one of the first citizen-science reports about Hesaraghatta came from KS Seshadri to provide proof to the government that the grassland must be preserved. 

The proposal, however, saw multiple delays and rejections due to various reasons, until the then-chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, directed that the proposal must be discussed with local communities after being directed by the High Court of Karnataka to re-consider the proposal

2021

After almost 10 years since the proposal was drafted, it was finally discussed at the State Wildlife Board on January 19th, only to get rejected. Conservationists refused to take no for an answer and appealed again to the Government of Karnataka.

2021 was also the year we, Jhatkaa.org joined the campaign in partnership with Conservation India, which was founded by conservationist Ramki Srinivasan. We launched a signature petition to amplify the voice of citizens in January of that year and realised that it was a cause that resonated with thousands of Bangaloreans. 

5th September 2021

Within just a few months of launching the signature campaign, we received over 66,000 signatures, which we submitted to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Mr. Vijay Kumar Gogi. 

By the end of the month, over 72,000 Citizens had supported our signature campaign to save the 5010 acres of Hesaraghatta grasslands of Bangalore. 

November 2022

Finally, the Karnataka State Wildlife Board agreed to hold a public consultation to decide the fate of the grasslands at Hesaraghatta, where people overwhelmingly supported preserving the grassland.

8th October 2024

The Karnataka State Board of Wildlife (SBWL) approved the proposal to declare Hesaraghatta as a protected grassland. The area around Hesaraghatta was notified as the ‘Greater Hesaraghatta Conservation Reserve’ (GHCR). The proposal that was drafted in 2013, by Mahesh Bhatt along with Ramki Srinivasan, ornithologist M B Krishna, and KS Seshadri was finally approved.

24 February 2025

The Karnataka government issued a gazette notification declaring the Hesaraghatta grassland as the ‘Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland and Conservation Reserve’. 

The Hesaraghatta campaign is a poignant reminder that conservation is a people’s movement. It takes years to come to fruition but is ultimately worth it. Oftentimes, signature campaigns are only part of the movement, which is led by citizens who want to see change in their environment and preserve the biodiversity that exists around us. While signature petitions help raise awareness and allow people from across the country to support a cause with a simple click, campaigners are the bridge that ensures that they reach the right authorities, because the greater the number of supporters, the more we can push for change. 

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