AP State to promote greenery in a big way

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government is going to introduce Andhra Pradesh greening and beautification policy-2018 soon. The greening policy is aimed to develop greenery in the state in a big way. 

The policy was jointly evolved by AP Urban Greening and Beautification Corporation and Centre for Innovations in Public Systems. The AP Greening and Beautification Corporation was formed three years ago. The corporation is an advisory body for designing, planning and rendering consultancy services to the urban local bodies and other departments of the State to develop greenery.  

The corporation has so far provided 741 concept designs and estimates for different landscape works estimated at Rs 641.02 crore. In all, 272 trees have been transplanted here for the first time: The corporation for the first time in the State has taken up tree transplantation and transplanted 272 trees which are going to be affected due to Benz Circle flyover works in Vijayawada.  

The officials transplanted 40-year-old trees with 84 per cent success rate. The corporation has been implementing greenery projects in three universities on pilot basis including at Nannaya university, Rajahmundry, Sri Krishna Devaraya University, Anantapur and Dravidian University, Kuppam.

Drone survey to increase greenery: The greening corporation prepared an action plan to develop parks in 110 municipalities in the State at a cost of Rs 715 crore. As part of it, a drone survey would be conducted to identify places to develop greenery.  The drone survey will be taken up in Tirupati, Kakinada and Visakhapatnam in the first phase. 

Under the Government of India’s Amrut scheme, the Greenery Corporation is going to develop 123 parks in the State. Experts from Singapore National Parks Board are expected to train the officials here. 

The Greening Corporation has also taken up plantation of 50,000 saplings along national highway at a cost of Rs 29 crore. Apart from this, the Corporation has taken up plantation and landscape at Tirumala and Alipiri and seven major other temples including Srisailam, Annavaram and Kanaka Durga temple. 

The AP Greening and Beautification Corporation managing director N Chandramohan Reddy said that the corporation developed a mobile App in the name of Green AP to provide expert advice to people interested in developing greenery. He said the App provides information of hundreds of vendors offering garden products and services, rooftop gardens and information on exhibitions.

The managing director said AP green awards will be presented in eight categories to hundred people who excelled in developing greenery. The awards will be announced next week.