Five saplings to be planted in each household

Five saplings to be planted in each household
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Highlights

 Local MLA N V S N Varma and NREGS officials have been toying with the idea of getting over 2.5 lakh saplings planted in the constituency on an experimental basis using the services of NREGS workers. 

- The saplings will be distributed free of cost
- Each of the NREGS workers having job card is paid Rs 194 for planting the five saplings – one each of the teak, guava, lemon, curry leaves and coconut

Pithapuram (East Godavari): Local MLA N V S N Varma and NREGS officials have been toying with the idea of getting over 2.5 lakh saplings planted in the constituency on an experimental basis using the services of NREGS workers.

The officials have been planning to get at least five saplings planted in each household using the services of NREGS workers. As part of the tree plantation drive, incentives will be given to those village panchayats that plant the highest number of plants and nurture them. The officials aver that if each of 7,00,000 NREGS workers were to plant five saplings, the villages in the district will turn into greener pastures.

Each of NREGS workers having job card is paid Rs 194 for planting the five saplings – one each of the teak, guava, lemon, curry leaves and coconut. The saplings would be distributed free of cost. Each worker is paid Rs 318 towards the cost of saplings, their transportation and wages for planting them.

The State government will give an incentive of Rs 1.20 lakh to village panchayat for planting saplings in government lands, waste lands, school and office campuses, tank bunds and plain areas. The panchayats are required to plant at least 70 saplings for each acre and take up the responsibility of nurturing them for three years. Towards the avenue plantation, each panchayat should plant at least 1,200 saplings up to a distance of 3 km. To nurture these saplings, an allocation of Rs 10.69 lakh has been made. Also, the government allocated Rs 11,020 for planting at least 90 saplings on tank bunds and nurturing them for two years.

Further, the horticulture department officials said that incentives would be given to those farmers who have planted mango, cashew nut, coconut, oil palm, guava, sweet lemon and chikoo (sapota) plants under the scheme.

According to NREGS assistant project director Mani Kumar, an additional incentive of Rs 5 lakh would be given to each of 50 successful village panchayats on first-come, first-served basis.

The MLA announced that each member of women’s groups will be given an incentive of Re 1 for each house for distributing the saplings. He is hopeful of distributing 2.5 lakh saplings targeted to plant in each of the Assembly constituency.

He held meetings with NREGS officials and village-level elected people’s representatives. He said that he would bring one lakh saplings to the constituency with the help of forest department officials.

Saride Nageswara Rao

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