The district administration has been making all out efforts to make the ‘Haritha Haram’ programme a grand success.
Officer on Special Duty at the Chief Minister’s office, Priyanka Varghese, also held a review meeting recently at the Collectorate and stated that the district should be an example for other districts in implementing the programme.
The district has fixed a target of developing 3.52 crore saplings and the responsibility was entrusted to various departments such as the District Water Management Agency (DWMA -1.75 crore saplings), Forest Department (28.88 lakh saplings), Panchayats & Zilla Parishat and Municipalities (1.12 crore), District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) (33.68 lakh saplings) and Horticulture (2.45 lakh saplings). A total of 495 nurseries have been identified, whose responsibility has been entrusted to the administration to grow saplings of different varieties. Under DWMA, wage component and material component is also being extended to farmers raising these plantations. While the wage component is 53 per cent, the material component is 47 per cent.
It was decided to identify about 10 acres of land in each of the 1,100 villages and grow about 1.82 crore saplings in about 11,000 acres. Similarly, in all schools, each student will be entrusted with the responsibility of raising two plants and it is estimated that about 25 lakh saplings will be developed by both students and teachers, in all schools.
Efforts are also on to convince the industries to adopt some stretches for plantation. The authorities will supply saplings and the factory managements would be asked to take care of them – water them regularly and arrange for tree guards or temporary fencing. The industries will be permitted to display their sponsorship boards at that location.
“We are confident of reaching the target. The Chief Minister has always talked about the beauty of roads at Ludhiana in Punjab. We want to be in the same league,” said an officer involved in the process.
