Say Trees! How A Techie From Raipur Is Reviving Bengaluru's Lakes And Green Cover

Last Updated:October 28, 2025, 07:00 IST

The extensive work by Kapil Sharma and his NGO was spotlighted last week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme

SayTrees founder Kapil Sharma started by planting a single sapling in 2007, which has now grown into a massive movement that has touched every corner of India. (Image: @kapil_saytrees/X)

Once known as the Garden City as well as the City of a Thousand Lakes, shaded by canopies of rain trees, Bengaluru today gasps for breath.

Temperatures touch 40 degrees Celsius, borewells are running dry, and water tankers ply through neighbourhoods that once had wells and ponds within a walking distance.

But amid this despair, there are also those who decided not to give up on Bengaluru. Kapil Sharma, the founder of environmental NGO SayTrees, came to the city from Raipur and fell in love.

Sharma got to work after he witnessed the depleting tree cover. His extensive work in rejuvenating the city’s lakes and wells as well as reviving its green cover was spotlighted last week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme.

“SayTrees has rejuvenated nine lakes and 40 wells across Bengaluru and around 29 lakes across Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru," Modi said, lauding the NGO’s work as “an inspiring model of citizen-led environmental action".

For Sharma, who spoke to News18 from Dallas, Texas, in the United States, the recognition is not a moment to rest but a reason to push harder.

“It’s an honour to be mentioned by the Prime Minister," Sharma said. “The reward of good work is more work. I just want to do as much as I can every day, for as long as we are on this lovely planet."

What began with planting a single sapling in 2007 has now grown into a massive movement that has touched every corner of India. This year alone, SayTrees has planted six million trees.

By December, they aim to reach 10 million. The majority of them – fruit-bearing trees – are being planted with more than 20,000 farmers.

“We’re creating Miyawaki forests in Bengaluru almost every month," he said. “But our movement also reached rural areas, where farmers became caretakers of saplings. They benefit from the fruits, while the land benefits from the trees. By the end of the year, we would have planted nearly 10 million trees – most of them with farmers."

FROM SAPLINGS TO LAKES

Over time, Sharma realised that Bengaluru’s problem was not just about trees; it was about its water and lakes.

The city’s ecology was crumbling because the chain that once linked trees, lakes, and groundwater had broken. That’s when SayTrees began working on rejuvenating lakes.

“This year alone, we revived nine lakes in Bengaluru and a total of 29 across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune," he said. “By the end of the year, we’ll touch 50 lakes."

But the journey was not easy. “Yes, we’ve faced issues – encroachment, bureaucracy, shifting government priorities," he said. “We start with one lake, and if challenges arise that can’t be resolved, we move to the next. But we don’t stop."

He said one of the biggest hurdles is continuity. “Governments change. Officers change. One plan gets scrapped when another government comes in. In the end, it’s the lakes, the people, and the city that suffer," he said. “But we keep going back to the authorities, showing them what’s been done, the impact, and the possibilities. Eventually, they come on board."

Next year, SayTrees plans to rejuvenate 20 more lakes – a target that he said is “necessary".

THE CITY THAT FORGOT ITS ROOTS

Bengaluru’s crisis, Sharma said, is not just about poor planning or erratic rainfall but about forgetting what made the city liveable in the first place.

“Bengaluru was built around lakes. Every neighbourhood had one because someone, hundreds of years ago, realised we wouldn’t survive without them. These were all man-made lakes. But over time, one by one, they disappeared. Now we’re left with barely 200," he said.

He said he remembers the Bengaluru he fell in love with. “When I moved here, I was mesmerised by the trees. That’s where it all began. The day I saw trees being cut down, it hit me that if this continues, Bengaluru will become like other cities – concrete jungles with no shade, no lakes, no soul," he said.

In recent years, Bengaluru has fallen prey to neglect. It has seen one of the worst dry spells with lakes dried up, rains failed, and tankers as lifelines.

Temperatures that never crossed 28 degrees Celsius now touch 40 degrees Celsius. This city – once known for its pleasant weather – is now battling for its water.

WHAT DOES BENGALURU NEED NOW?

For Sharma, the solution lies in reconnecting the dots – between trees, lakes, and people.

He said all of it is interconnected and, if the green cover is fixed, the lake system will also revive and, with that, the groundwater. Planting trees, though, is just the beginning, he added.

“Planting is the easiest part. The next three years decide whether the tree survives. Maintenance is everything. We need proper plans to make sure saplings don’t die. It’s been done before – by visionary forest officers who made Bengaluru the green city it once was. It can be done again," he said.

And once the green cover returns, the focus must shift back to the lakes. “These are all old, man-made lakes. They must be desilted and reconstructed if necessary. The rajakaluves – the stormwater drains that once linked these lakes – must be reopened. If water doesn’t reach the lakes, even the best rejuvenation won’t matter," he said.

Sharma calls it Bengaluru’s “double disaster" – dry summers and flooded monsoon. “Every summer, we talk about water shortage. Every monsoon, we talk about floods. Two opposite problems, both caused by the same issue – poor water management. It’ll take years to fix, but with a proper plan, it can be done," he said.

BENGALURU 2030: THE VISION

Sharma’s dream is to see a fully revived ecosystem by 2030. “If all like-minded people come together, we can rejuvenate all the lakes around Bengaluru by then. By 2030, we want to work with one lakh farmers and rejuvenate 500 lakes across the country," he said.

The plan, however, will only work through collaboration. “This has to be a public-private partnership model. The government, NGOs like us, and corporates need to come together. When we combine forces, it reduces cost, time, and brings accountability," he said.

He listed three immediate steps Bengaluru needs to take:

“One – list all the lakes that need urgent rejuvenation. Two – bring in corporates through CSR to fund these projects. Three – involve local communities because if they aren’t part of it, the lakes will go back to neglect," he said.

Sharma acknowledged that governments are doing their bit but this needs scale and urgency. He believes that the city’s revival will only happen when people – citizens, officials, and corporates – work together.

“Corporates are ready to come forward. Communities  need to step in. Then we will have sustainable projects. The lakes we rejuvenate today will survive the next three decades," he said.

His optimism comes not from idealism but experience. Over the past 17 years, SayTrees has grown from a small volunteer group in Bengaluru to a national movement active in 15 states. It has created 50 Miyawaki forests, rejuvenated lakes, revived wells, and transformed barren spaces into green sanctuaries.

On International Climate Day 2025, the group planted over one lakh trees in a single day. From one sapling in 2007 to 10 million trees today, Sharma’s journey mirrors the very idea of Bengaluru – resilient, rooted, and ready to regrow. “We just need to have the vision," he said.

Rohini Swamy

Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18’s digital platform. She has previously worked with t...Read More

Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18’s digital platform. She has previously worked with t...

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