Hyderabad: Haritha Haram programme wilts in lockdown heat

Hyderabad: While the other activities have come to a standstill, the State government's ambitious Haritha Haram is also affected in the ongoing lockdown.

Acording to sources, the works of the raising of plants in the nurseries of the villages has come to a halt since last one month time. The Rural Development department has to raise about 23 core plants by June of this year. However, the reports say that 19 crore have been raised so far.

The plantation drive would be taken up in the State as soon as the monsoon season begins in June second week and by that time the plants have to be kept ready. The State government has a target of planting 40 crore samplings all over the State in the monsoon season. The Rural Development department has been given a target of 23 crore plants.

The raising of plants through the nurseries is taken up under the National Employment Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The Forest department has been providing the seedlings to the nurseries. The NREG workers would raise plants and would hand over the same to the volunteers who come forward to take up the plantation drive.

Raising of plants was done till March this year and the works came to halt since April with the lockdown. The NREG workers have not come for the works with fear of contracting the virus.

Though the NREG works have been restarted from April 20 there is no progress in taking up works of raising the plants. Apart from that, due to the lockdown the transport of soil, plastic covers and other material required for the nurseries have not reached the villages.

Moreover, the survival of the raised plants has also come under threat. As there were no workers to water the plants regularly at several villages the nurseries have gone dry. The officials have to ensure the survival of the plants as well as raising the new plants to make the Haritha Haram a success in the monsoon season.