Greenery with Haritha haaram

Hyderabad: The TS government will start publicity campaigns across the state for the Telangana ku Haritha Haram (TKHH) on Thursday. Touted to be one of the world's largest afforestation programmes, it aims to plant 230 crore saplings in three years. Nearly 40 crore saplings will be planted this year which have been raised in 4,213 nurseries across the state.

While afforestation programmes have been taken up across many states, none have been as massive as TS. '300 crore has been allotted for the afforestation programme out of which Rs 70 crore has already been released for various works.

The main aspect of TKHH is involving people in the movement. A senior government official said, “All nurseries in the mandals have tied up with the gram panchayats along with details of available seedlings of various species. People can choose saplings of their choice and plant them wherever they want – homes, offices and fields. The state government has also tied up plantation activities with NREGA, which will attract many villagers to participate. Survival of plants will also be ensured as funds will be given to maintain the plants.”

As part of TKHH, 80 local species of trees will be planted. And many of these will be doing more than just providing green cover. People can pick up species like guava, drumstick, papaya and curry leaves from the nurseries if they want to enjoy the produce as food or red sanders and teak if they want to reap economic benefits. Eetha (palm tree) will also be planted across the state as it will prove a source of revenue for villagers who can tap the toddy and sell it.

The government has planned the afforestation programme to the minutest detail. Books for each of the 120 constituencies in TS have been printed with information pertaining to location-wise, species specific planting of trees. Steps like digging of pits and transportation of saplings has been done along with preparation of village wise requirement of seedlings.

The need for afforestation

The Telangana ku Haritha Haram afforestation programme does not just aim at increasing green cover in the state or urban areas but also increase forest cover from the present 25.16 per cent to 33 per cent.

As per a senior government official, about 10-15 per cent of the 40 crore saplings raised this year will be planted in forests. As monsoon has arrived, planting of saplings has already begun in many forest areas. The official said that in such plantation drives, the survival rate of saplings was around 70 per cent, which means that there are chances of at least 25 crore saplings surviving.

However, all these efforts will be futile if the state government does not ensure that the threats of deforestation and encroachments in forests are removed. A single tree is said to consume nearly 22 kg of carbon dioxide every year once it matures, usually by the time it reaches 40 years of age.

While the increase in green cover in Telangana due to Haritha Haram will be visible in four-five years as the saplings will be of enough height by then to be recognized as green patches through satellite imagery, they will not be contributing much to the environment in terms of cutting down carbon footprint as compared to large mature trees of natural forests.

Sadly, the forest area in Telangana has been on a continual decline. The annual Survey of Forests reports released by the forest department always points out encroachments as a reason of declining forest cover in almost all districts in the state.

There has been a decline in forest cover by more than 100 sq. km in the last four-five years. Deforestation, felling of trees for smuggling, clearing of natural forests for various purposes take place on a regular basis. There are already 25 forest clearance proposals pending in TS just in 2015.

Industries to go with pollution resistant trees

Industries, infamous for increasing pollution levels, will also be participating in the Telangana ku Haritha Haram programme as the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) aims to plant 1 crore saplings across all industrial estates.

The saplings which will be planted in the 148 industrial estates in the state will be of species identified by the TSIIC as having the potential to bear noxious pollutants released by the industries like sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, suspended particulate matter and even noise pollution.

The TSIIC has identified 36 such “pollution resistant trees”, which will be planted in industrial estates. The TSIIC will also take into account various parameters including soil type, functions —aesthetic, and water requirement etc. of the trees.