Khammam: Admin aims to make district green by planting 32 lakh trees

Khammam: District Collector V P Gautham instructed officials on Thursday to gear up to meet Haritha Haram targets. The district has set a target of planting 32.477 lakh saplings in 2023 and 31.06 lakh saplings in 2024.

The Collector said various departmental heads should coordinate to reach the targets area-wise. He presented an action plan for this year’s Haritha Haram programme. Plantation in irrigation department’s lands and natural woodlands near villages should be prioritised. Biodiversity should be promoted.

It is planned to plant seedlings in vacant areas of land granted to Satthupalli Battalion, Police Headquarters, and JNTU. Steps should be taken to plant seedlings in areas where quarrying has been completed, said the Collector.

They intend to grow trees around the sports grounds’ barrier. They aim to grow saplings in abandoned Singareni mines. Plants should be grown in nurseries according to demand for homestead plant distribution. 10% of the budget should be allocated to nursery, maintenance, plantation, tree guards, and other projects.

The pitting process should begin right away. A list of sites should be provided. Gaps in nurseries should be filled, as well as fence and jungle removal near block plantings.

Collector stated that everything should be prepared for the commencement of the plantation process, and that if the plantation is started immediately, the plants will have a better chance of surviving.

Additional Collector SnehalathaMogili, Training Assistant Collector Radhika Gupta, District Forest Officer Siddharth Vikram Singh, ZP CEO Apparao, DRDO Vidyachandana, Khammam Municipal Corporation Assistant Commissioner Mallishwari, AD Survey and Land Records Srinivasulu, GM Industries Ajay Kumar, AD Mines were present in this meeting.