Nagpur civic body's 5 lakh sapling drive: none planted on dividers or roadsides, 26.5% of target met

The Nagpur Municipal Corporation had announced with much fanfare a drive to plant 5 lakh saplings, but questions are now being raised over its progress. The garden department is responsible for the drive, and its poor management appears to be slowing down the entire campaign.

The garden department is reporting that 97,181 saplings have been planted so far. Sources say, however, that this figure covers only the saplings the department has distributed to corporators, various organisations and institutions. The situation on the ground is said to differ from this figure.

Targets had been set under the drive in different categories. These included Gorewada Biodiversity Park, government and private institutions, CSR and sponsors, corporators, block plantation, roadside plantation, public participation and planting on dividers. In all, the target was to plant 1,67,000 saplings.

The target for Gorewada Biodiversity Park was 40,000 saplings. The department claims to have crossed 50 per cent here, with 28,325 saplings planted. This is the largest number for any single site, but it is still well short of the target. Some environmentalists have demanded that all saplings being planted be geo-mapped on Google and the map made public.

A target of 1,00,000 saplings had been set for government institutions, private institutions and others, but only 3,000 could be planted. This situation is a cause for concern. The target for saplings received through CSR and plantation by corporators was 22,000. The department reports 19,153 saplings planted. However, the reality is said to be that after the plantation was announced, most corporators were not given saplings at all. Some corporators did receive saplings, but within a few days the model code of conduct came into force and the matter was put on the back burner. Even so, claims continue to be made loudly.

The department's own figures are startling. The target for planting on dividers was 10,000, but not a single sapling has been planted. The target for block plantation was 50,000, but only 500 saplings were planted. Some 20,000 saplings were to be planted along roads, but none has been, which means progress is zero. Under public participation the target was 25,000 and 10,389 saplings have been planted. Public participation is moving ahead slowly here.

Against the total target of 1,67,000 saplings, 97,181 have been planted so far. This means only about 26.5 per cent of the target has been achieved. Environmental experts say plantation is not merely a numbers game, and that care and protection of the saplings are also essential. According to them, transparency and monitoring in the drive need to be increased so that the targets do not remain confined to paper.