HYDERABAD: To pack more saplings together and create a denser, greener, diverse and more natural landscape, the Japanese method of Miyawaki afforestation will be implemented this year for planting saplings as part of Telangana ku Haritha Haaram (TKHH) sapling plantation scheme, said its Officer on Special Duty, Priyanka Varghese, while interacting with the Editorial Team of Express on Monday. The Miyawaki method, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, involves densely planting many seedlings of diverse local species of flora in a small space without giving gap so that over the time through natural selection some plants of different species stay alive resembling a natural forest. This method is being adopted at various places in the country.
Till now the sapling plantation as part of TKHH has been carried out only by much spacing of saplings but with increase in the number of plant nurseries in the state, the Miyawaki method can also be adopted now, said Varghese.
100 crore saplings in a year possible
Asked if the annual target set by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of planting 100 crore saplings from next year is not too ambitious, Varghese expressed confidence that the target is achievable for the reason that for the last three years the mindset of people and even government officials has been changing and there has also been an increase in the availability of saplings in the state. “Telangana ku Haritha Haram, which was launched in 2015, is not a project or a programme but rather a campaign. Any social programme can be successful only in a campaign mode. Greenery has become a luxury. After sustained efforts, innovative ideas and campaigning by the government for three years, now everybody is aware about the importance of planting saplings.
We are already halfway through the process. Although the achievement has been more than just the numbers, in the last three years 81 crore saplings have been planted, a globally unique feat.” Against the target of planting 100 crore saplings next year, 65 crore saplings will be planted in rural areas, 25 crore in urban areas and the rest will exclusively be tall plants to be planted by the forest department.