ADILABAD: Only 15 per cent of the saplings planted under Haritha Haaram programme have survived in the erstwhile Adilabad district.
About 4.2 crore saplings were raised in nurseries in 2016 in the third phase, of which 3.22 crore saplings were planted in the Adilabad , Kumram Bheem and Mancherial districts. However, only 15 per cent of them survived. Most of the plants on the roadside either withered away or became food for cattle.
A sarpanch said that in his Gram Panchayat, out of the target of 40,000 plants, 15,000 saplings were planted and only 15 per cent survived due to negligence.
“Saplings are planted as a formality. They dried up due to lack of water or were eaten up by cattle. Planting saplings has become a ritual just for publicity,” he said.
Take the case of old NH-7 in Adilabad town where officials planted saplings and covered them with fencing wire and watered them. But during the road extension works, the soil excavated from roadside was thrown on the plants. There are no plants at the site anymore. Similarly, on the Gudithatnoor-Utnoor route, plants were uprooted for double-lane road works.