Plantation drive: Forest dept ropes in civil society

The district forest department has roped in non-government organisations and RWAs to undertake a plantation drive in the city.

The district forest department has roped in non-government organisations and RWAs to undertake a plantation drive in the city.

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"We are planning a massive campaign to make the city green. Saplings would be planted on roadsides and forestland," said OP Kajla, district forest officer. According to him, the forest department had failed to meet the target.

"This year we are confident that we would meet the target," he added.

The department has plans to plant 2.50 lakh saplings in the district during the monsoon.

The workers of non-governmental organisations such as Nanhi Chaan, Hariyali and others planted more than a thousand saplings in the last one week.

"We organised a massive plantation drive with the help of 1,900 students from six different schools and villagers and planted as many as 3,000 saplings," said Harpal Singh, chairman of Nanhi Chaan, "We are not only planting new saplings but making efforts to ensure that planted saplings don't perish," said Vivek Kamboj, founder and president of NGO Haryali. Urbanization has taken a heavy toll on the green cover of the city.

In 1999, there were three lakh trees in the city while the number has come down to 1.32 lakh in 2011. Also, encroachment has taken a heavy toll green cover.

Civil society organisations have have come down heavily on authorities for not curbing rampant destruction of forest.