Admn, MC, NGOs to team up for plantation drive

Ludhiana: With the starting of the rainy season, civic officials are preparing for the annual plantation drive, which usually starts in July. This time, the MC will coordinate with a few NGOs for the plantation drive.
The district administration has set a target of planting 1 lakh saplings this year, including the MC’s target of 35,000 saplings.
Officials said that they would begin with plantation in 892 parks of the city from the first week of July.They said that they had already procured the plants from the forest department and the MC nursery, so they would be able to plant at least 20,000 saplings in the parks. They said that the rest of the saplings would be planted on the recommendation of NGOs. Given the severe heat wave which swept the region, officials aim at planting as many trees as possible.
MC junior engineer Kripal Singh said, “Plantation will start from the first week and we have made necessary arrangements. Staff in the horticulture branch will start digging pits for plantation.” He said they would prefer MC parks in the city, roadsides and abandoned green belts like the ones in Focal Point.
Meanwhile, former councillor of the Congress, Mamta Ashu said that the MC should organise plantation at its level while the administration should do so at its level. She said that NGOs had also been organising plantation drives every year and if they were collaborating, then the target of 1 lakh plants was inadequate. She said that the city needed a lot of plants and they had enough space on the sides of the elevated road at Ferozepur road, where plants should be planted on priority.
A group of NGOs, under the banner, “City Needs” is offering “Tree ATMs.” Residents need to call the members, who will provide plants at their doorsteps.