A total of 1.83 crore saplings of different varieties would be planted across the district this monsoon, and action plans at the village, mandal and district level would be chalked out for the implementation of the Haritha Haram programme.
Addressing a meeting of sarpanches and other elected representatives of local bodies here on Friday, Collector Yogitha Rana said every mandal would be divided into two clusters — cluster A would be led by the tahsildar while cluster B would be under the Mandal Parishad Development Officer. The Haritha Haram committees must prepare the list of saplings to be planted and hand over the same to the Forest Department.
They must also identify sites for planting the saplings, and in each village at least 40,000 saplings must be planted, Ms. Rana said, adding that palm trees need to be raised at a gap of three meters and in between flowering plants be planted. Leaving the playground, plants could be planted on school grounds.
Bund plantation
Prosopis juliflora — or ‘sarkar tumma’ as it is known in local parlance — could be planted wherever there was no compound wall, and they must be cut to size and kept ready for planting.
Planting saplings on bunds could protect crops from gales and winds. By planting nearly two lakh saplings, the Telangana University could be transformed to a lush green forest, she said.
Joint Collector A. Ravinder Reddy said last year people voluntarily participated in the Haritha Haram programme, and due to copious rains a majority of plants survived. Mr. Reddy appealed the people to take part with the same spirit shown last year.
Mayor Akula Sujatha, Bodhan Sub-Collector Sikta Patnaik, District Forest Officer N.V.V.S. Prasad, and District Rural Development Officer Venkateswarlu were also present.
