95% saplings planted in 2020 drive survived, says Noida forest dept

Noida At least 95% of the total plantation carried out by the district forest department in 2020 survived, but 5% did not due to various reasons, said officials on Monday

Noida At least 95% of the total plantation carried out by the district forest department in 2020 survived, but 5% did not due to various reasons, said officials on Monday. The department officials made the comment after taking stock of last year’s plantation ahead of planning the drive this year, which is likely to happen in July.

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In July 2020, the forest department and 28 other public departments planted as many as 936,000 tree saplings of 35 indigenous tree species in a single day mass plantation drive across the district. The department planted more than 271,000 saplings out of the total 936,000, and 95% of it has survived.

“At least 95% of the saplings planted in 2020 survived, but 5% did not. It is a rough estimate, and this often happens in such a mass drive. There are various reasons including weather conditions, improper plantation, and toy exceptions among others, why the 5% did not survive. We had geotagged most of our locations, and the dead plants will be replaced with new ones during the this year’s drive,” said PK Srivastava, divisional forest officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

The district is likely to see a plantation drive this year, with Gautam Budh Nagar having a target of planting 1,026,000 tree saplings. The forest department will plant as many as 325,836 saplings, said the officials.

“The date for the drive this year is yet to be announced, but we expect it to be held in July. There is also a possibility that the drive will be organised for over a week this year, and not just for a day,” Srivastava added.

According to the officials, the Uttar Pradesh government aims to have a total green cover of more than 15% (36,146-sq-km) of its geographical area by 2021, against the present 12.09% (29,133.5-sq-km). At present, Gautam Budh Nagar has a total of 5-sq-km of moderately dense forests (density of 70%-40%), while 15 are open forests (density of 39%-10%).