Hyderabad: Forest department aims to plant 20 cr saplings

Adarsh Nagar:As a part of the 7th edition of Haritha Haram the Forest department has set a target of planting over 20 crore saplings which is scheduled to take place in 2021-22 during monsoon seasons.

A decision to that effect was taken at a state-level monitoring and coordination meeting held here on Wednesday at Aranya Bhavan. The meeting was presided over by Special Chief Government Secretary A. Santhi Kumari. Officials addressed the preparations to be made for the subsequent Haritha Haram seventh step programme.

In the six phases of the Haritha Haram programme carried out so far across the State, as many as 210.85 crore saplings were planted, officials said. Since the State government's goal was to set up a nursery in each village, the number of nurseries has now risen to 14,924.

As against the planting target of 29.86 lakh saplings, over 27.31 crore saplings were planted during the sixth phase of last year's Haritha Haram program, officials said.

Santhi Kumari advised the officials concerned to take the necessary measures during the summer to ensure the provision of water for the safety of the plants. Officials concerned should, with the coordination of elected officials, take steps to increase the survival rate of saplings planted, she said. She instructed officials to make large plants available at all nurseries for planting on highways as part of a multi-level avenue plantation, stating that officials should strive for Green Telangana with the same spirit shown during the PallePragathi and PattanaPragathiprograms.If necessary, the officials can avail technical assistance from the forest department.