Agriculture Minister P. Srinivas Reddy said Haritha Haram would be successful only when people participate in its implementation and protect the saplings planted thereafter.
Taking part in the plantation drive at Rudrur mandal headquarters on Thursday, he said about 1.80 crore saplings were being planted in the third phase of the programme.
To create awareness among people about the importance of increasing green cover, he went around the village on an Enfield bike. Later, he planted saplings on the premises of a local police station.
The Minister said the TRS government was spending ₹14,000 crore every year for the socio-economic development of Dalits. He said 11 Dalit families, which were given three acres of land each in Akbarnagar, were also provided with water for irrigation through four bore-wells.
At the Tahsildar office, he gave away cheques for ₹71,000 each to 21 Muslim families under the Shadi Mubaraq scheme. He said 15 posts were sanctioned for the Food Technology Institute at Rudrur and they would be filled soon. “We are also making efforts to build double bedroom houses for the poor,” said Mr. Srinivas Reddy.
Meanwhile, a large number of people across the district participated in the plantation drive on the second on Thursday. Led by Collector N. Satyanarayana, officials, students and others planted saplings on the premises of Government Diary College at Kamareddy.
