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Delhi’s Van Mahotsav drive to get eco-friendly this year
The drive will be launched by Kailash Gahlot, forest minister of Delhi, from Isapur forest in west Delhi. More than 1,000 schools, both government and government-aided, would be participating in the initiative.
Polythene bags, which are used to cover saplings from nurseries, will this year mostly make way for more eco-friendly jute bags during the government’s Van Mahotsav drive that will be launched on Friday.
The drive will be launched by Kailash Gahlot, forest minister of Delhi, from Isapur forest in west Delhi. More than 1,000 schools, both government and government-aided, would be participating in the initiative.
Forest officials said some saplings will still come wrapped in plastic cover. However, these polythene pouches will be collected and sent to waste-to-energy plants for disposing them in an environment-friendly manner.
The forest department and other greening agencies would be undertaking their mass plantation drive on Friday during which more than 3.1 lakh saplings would be planted across 128 locations. Citizens and RWAs can collect free saplings from 14 forest department nurseries across Delhi.
“We would cut down the use of polythene bags to some extent this year. Instead of polythene bags we have asked nurseries to use jute bags as far as possible. Jute bags are usually used for bigger saplings around five to six feet tall. However, plastic bags are used for smaller saplings,” said Ishwar Singh, principal chief conservator of forest.
HT had reported in September 2018, how several saplings during last year’s mega plantation drive were planted without removing the polythene pouches. Experts had then said that those saplings were unlikely to survive. Also pouches, which were removed before the sapling was planted, often lay scattered at the plantation sites.
“This time, however, these polythene pouches would be gathered and collected to be taken to waste to energy plants for disposing them in an environment friendly manner,” said Singh.
“Each school has been asked to plant at least 50 saplings of trees and 100 shrubs in the drive. Residents can also collect free saplings from 14 nurseries if they wish to take part,” said a senior forest official.
Experts have welcomed the forest department’s initiative to cut down the number of plastic bags but said that officials must ensure to remove even the jute bags before a sapling is planted.
“It is a welcome move to bring down the number of polythene bags in a plantation drive. But the department should ensure that the pouches – be it plastic or jute – are removed before a sapling is planted. This would allow the roots to grow in a proper manner and survival rates of saplings would be higher,” said CR Babu, an ecologist.
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