Telangana: 40-crore saplings for Haritha Haram

Hyderabad: The government has set itself a target to plant 40 crore saplings across the state  as part of the third phase of Haritha Haram. 

The government has spent Rs 1,645 crore on Haritha Haram so far. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will launch the third phase of Haritha Haram  in Karimnagar this week. One lakh saplings will be planted in Karimnagar on Day-1.

The Haritha Haram project, to improve green cover in the state from the existing 24 per cent to 33 per cent, was launched in  2015. In the first phase, 15.86 crore saplings were planted across the state in 2015-16. Another 31.67 crore saplings were planted in the second  phase in 2016-17. 

The government has kept 40 crore saplings ready for plantation in 2,925 nurseries for the third phase. Of the total saplings planted along highways and roads during the last two years, the survival rate was found to be 91 per cent.

The survival rate of saplings planted in unused lands belonging to government was  found to be 79 per cent while that of saplings in wastelands was 53 per cent.