The city’s green carpet is set to double, as the Chennai Corporation has set an ambitious target of increasing it from 5.5 per cent to 11 per cent this year.
A resolution passed by Mayor Saidai Duraisamy on Thursday during the Corporation Council meeting held here also set an ambitious target of increasing the green cover in the city to 25 per cent in the next three years.
According to international norms, a city’s green cover should form 33.3 per cent of the total area.
The greening project is part of the 65th birthday celebrations of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Interestingly, the plan is to plant a symbolic number of 6.5 lakh saplings each of red sander, papaya, palmyra and nochi across the city in open spaces and in individual homes of residents.
Duraisamy said a sapling of red sander would be given to each independent house having a garden. For those who do not own independent houses and live in apartment buildings or in rented accommodation, the Corporation has come up with an ‘own a tree’ policy, whereby interested individuals can plant a sapling in the open spaces that belong to the Corporation.
The resolution laid out the greening plan thus: initially 6.5 lakh palmyra trees would be planted in the city’s entire stretch of land bordering water bodies — a total of 749 km. This will further be expanded to 20 lakh saplings in the coming years; the greening drive will help prevent soil erosion. Also, 6.5 lakh saplings of nochi would be planted along the banks of water bodies to control mosquito menace.
Similarly, in a bid to curb dengue, 6.5 lakh papaya saplings will be provided to students in government, corporation and private schools.