Hyderabad: Rains set to favour Haritha Haram III kickoff

Hyderabad: The third phase of ‘Haritha Haram’, the ambitious project to green Telangana, is set to begin on July 12, with some 40 crore saplings set to be planted all over the state. Rainfall is expected to be higher in the coming week, which the authorities believe will help this phase of the programme succeed. 

“The first phase of ‘Haritha Haram’ in 2015 failed due to a disappointing monsoon that year, when there were almost no showers till September. We planted 15 crore saplings but less than 50 percent of them survived. The second phase was better — we planted around 30 crore seedlings and had a 50 percent survival rate”, said Sudhakar Reddy, assistant conservator of forests. “This year, we have 40 crore saplings to plant. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, this year’s monsoon conditions are favourable for our plantation drive.” 

The third phase is being kicked off closer to mid-July to avoid the dry spell that hit the earlier phases after initial rains. “The Vijayawada highway, Karimnagar district, Gurramguda and Narapally are some success stories from the first two phases of Haritha Haram. Although it might not seem like it’s a  monumental change, remember that this is the first plantation drive of such a magnitude in the country. We will need more attempts to reach the goal of increasing our green cover to 33 per cent from 24 per cent,” Mr Reddy said.  

Avenue plantations – trees planted along roads – have shown a high rate of success. S Satyanarayana, a senior official at Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, says, “The HMDA takes care of seedlings planted in our jurisdiction. We ensure that they are properly watered and nourished and try to keep up a high survival rate. This year, we are aiming for 95 per cent survival rate. We have maintained the outer ring road, which had plants from the last phase. We will identify plantation locations and make sure that the new plants survive.” 

The forest department, meanwhile, planted saplings along 4,691 km during the second phase and plans to do so along 6,000 more kilometers this year. “Around Rs 80 crore has been allotted for the rejuvenation of degraded forests, which is a key target of Haritha Haram. Although it is too late to revive saplings from the first phase, there will be replanting of 10 to 20 per cent of dead saplings from the second phase, wherever they are revivable,” Mr Satyanarayana said.

Green initiative 
112.10 lakh ha   
Total geographical area of state 
26.90 lakh ha  
forest area 
Phase-wise saplings planted​
15.86 cr: I  
31.67 cr: II
40 cr: III 
GHMC target to plant trees in Phase III​
1 cr: Target 
5.81L plants
Open spaces, avenues, lakes, parks, vertical gardens
50,000  
Government, private sector institutions 
93.7 lakh Distribution of homestead plants 
Forest department’s success in the 2 phases​
4,691 kms:  Avenue plantations 
18,920 ha: Block plantations 
Planting Expenditure â€‹
Rs 1,755.06 cr: Total amount spent 
Rs 417.57 cr Afforestation funds 
Rs 260.92 cr Compensatory afforestation fund management and planning authority funds - 
Rs 10,76.57 cr Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act funds 
Species of Plants available at nurseries​
Teak
 Bamboo
 Babul
 Silver Oak
 Eetha 
 Peltophorum
 Raintree
 Neem
 Curry Leaf
 Drumstick
 Guava
 Pomegranate