HYDERABAD: ‘Telangana ku Haritha Haram’, that began in the year 2015-16, came at a cost of Rs 4,027 crore, as of its conclusive phase. The goal of Haritha Haram was to plant 230 crore seedlings in five years. However, only about 177 crore saplings were planted until 2019. Now, the State government has decided to shift the responsibility of the plantation drive to gram panchayats.
The performance of Haritha Haram was the poorest in its fifth phase. The Forest Department could only achieve about 43 per cent of its stipulated target. “The target this year was to plant 87 crore seedlings. However, only a little over 38 crore seedlings were planted. There is no technical or economic weakness, but the government has decided to shift the responsibility of the plantation drive to the gram panchayats,” an official from the Forest Department said. “The Forest Department, nonetheless, will still be in the background, providing technical advice to the new nurseries which are to be set up in 12,741 gram panchayats in Telangana.”
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has now asked us to forget the initial target of the plantation. Instead, we were directed to focus on the survival rate. “Each gram panchayat, from now on, is mandated to ensure that the survival rate of the seedlings planted is 85 per cent,” a forest official added.
According to the new Panchayat Raj Act 2018, all the gram panchayats in the State will receive Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh for the implementation of development programmes every year from the State government, in addition to the funds from Finance Commission grants. These funds will be used for the effective implementation of the plantation programme, informed the forest officials.