n almost all the works executed by the government or private agencies in Adilabad, it is the complete lack of commitment and common sense which stands out like a sore thumb. Take for instance the prestigious Telanganaku Haritha Haram (THH) programme, wherein thousands of saplings are being lost owing to this phenomenon as also the lack of protection to plants.
Official claims
The district is top in the State when it comes to planting the number of saplings and officials also claim the survival rate of saplings to be healthy. The adverse weather which prevailed during the last monsoon and even in the following period has only helped expose the lack of protection to the tender saplings and plants.
Utnoor and its surroundings best illustrate the ground reality in use of common sense when it comes to the health of the THH plantations. Almost all the plants in the fore shore plantation taken up in the Birsaipet tank have been eaten up by the cattle. Not only was the selection of the place faulty as it forms prime grazing land for local cattle, like any other tank foreshore in the district but the saplings were left without any tree guards. Within a matter of days all the saplings have gone and the still standing stakes, erected as a support to the saplings, tell the sorry tale of the effort of the government.
Something more odd can be seen on the Utnoor-Asifabad road, between Hirapur and Hasnapur villages. While the Northern Power Distribution Company Limited is cutting down standing large trees or pruning the branches of others for erecting a new power supply line along the existing road, new saplings are being planted right under the overhead electric cables.
“These lacunae could be due to lack of technical knowledge among the agencies executing the plantation works though we have been training personnel quite intensively,” conceded THH Nodal Officer and Adilabad Social Forestry Divisional Forest Officer M. Janaki Ram. “Nevertheless, we have recorded a survival rate of 80 per cent evident from figures collected from every gram panchayat,” he added.
“The experience of the first year has also helped us chart a proper course for the coming year,” the top official observed as he dwelt on the issue. “We are now trying to raise the plants till they attain a height which cannot be reached by grazing animals and provide for adequate protection around it besides ensuring watering,” he pointed out.
Target
According to statistics, the target in Adilabad was to raise 4.19 crore saplings in the 575 nurseries this year, of which 3 crore have been raised and 2.6 crore have been planted. The non-availability of seeds of a few varieties, especially the teak trees has had a great effect on the number of plants raised.
Within a matter of days all the saplings have gone and the still standing stakes tell the sorry tale of the effort of the government
