Schools, colleges across State to go green soon

Hyderabad: Mass plantation drive will be taken up during the ensuing fourth phase of Telanganaku Haritha Haram (THH) in all educational institutions in the State. The programme will be taken up with a theme ‘Swachh Patasala – Haritha Patasala’ and a decision to this effect has been taken at a joint review meeting of Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari and Environment and Forest Minister Jogu Ramanna here on Thursday.

As part of the programme, the mass plantation drive will be taken up from primary to university-level educational institutions in the State and it will be implemented in coordination with education, forest and panchayat raj departments, they said. Kadiyam asked officials to identify suitable places in the educational institutions to take up block plantation marking every student and educational institution to participate in making the programme, which will be taken up in July, a huge success.

For this, Special Chief Secretary (Education) Rajeev R Acharya will hold a video conference with the district officials from education, forest and panchayat raj departments for the identification of suitable places for plantation, the Deputy CM informed. He asked the forest officials to provide fruit-bearing and flower-bearing plants and plants which provide shade for planting in educational institutions. Though the education department takes care of plants, he asked forest department officials to ensure their protection and survival. For this, he asked to engage staff from Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act to ensure 100 per cent survival of the plants.

Also, educational institutions should also take part in a big way to achieve the objective of THH by participating in the plantation programmes in the forest areas.

Jogu Ramanna said that THH has been highly successful in the educational institutions with 80 per cent survival rate, adding that students showing interest in planting and protection of the saplings were being given grace marks.