KOCHI: Planting and conservation of trees will not be confined to just World Environment Day as the Ernakulam district panchayat has launched a project to ensure that saplings planted on the day are protected for at least three years. As part of the programme, the district panchayat will distribute and plant 14 lakh saplings on Tuesday.
Committees at the ward level will be formed to protect the planted saplings and the district panchayat will give Rs 17 for the protection of each sapling every month. Committee members have been tasked with checking the growth of the plants and file a report every month. The members will be penalised if they fail to look after the saplings.
The fund provided for the scheme will be subjected to social auditing. The details of the sapling planted each year should be verified by gram sabhas annually. A press release from the district information officer stated that World Environment Day events will be held in the district under the Haritha Kerala Mission’s supervision.
The mission will monitor the distribution of plants. MGNREGA workers have been entrusted with the job of distributing saplings to 82 panchayats in the district.Saplings of fruit-bearing trees will be planted as part of the event. Importance has been given to trees that are rare to find nowadays. Saplings will be planted at schools, canal banks, rivers and roadsides in each panchayat. Similarly, 25 saplings will be given to each social welfare group. The district panchayat has issued guidelines regarding the scheme to each block and gram panchayat.
Civic group to erect fences on Banerji Rd
Kochi: The Greater Cochin Development Watch (GCDW), a civic group campaigning for comprehensive and all-inclusive development of the city, will organise a series of programmes in the city on June 5 to mark World Environment Day.
Under the programme titled Clean Kochi Challenge, temporary fencing will be erected along the walkways of busy stretches