Ahmedabad to take up record greening drive

AHMEDABAD - Ahmedabad is set to notch up a record by planting a whopping six lakh saplings across the city in a single day on July 31, officials Sunday said.

Principal Secretary, Forests and Environment S.K. Nanda said here that the event to be taken up as “Prakruti Utsav” (Nature Festival) is aimed at focusing mass attention on the need to conserve the environment, besides the advantages of enhancing the tree cover of the city.

“Records tend to set a pace, imparting a spirit of competition with someone somewhere making a bid to better the effort,” he added.

According to Nanda, the forest department, which will provide the saplings, hopes to mobilise over one lakh people in the endeavour and has been talking to NGOs, philanthropic organisations and trade bodies, besides schools and colleges and even government employees.

“We are encouraging people to hold a variety of programmes on the day to bring concentrated focus on the environment,” he added. The sapling planting drive is a part of the “Swarnim Gujarat Prakruti Utsav” from July 26 to 31 to commemorate the golden jubilee of the state’s formation.

Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA), which is responsible for an area of about 1,800 sq km under 174 villages outside the municipal corporation area, is also undertaking a drive to plant one lakh saplings in the area under its jurisdiction. With a plethora of residential housing societies coming up in the area, AUDA has roped in the Gujarat Institute of Housing and Estate Developers (GIHED) in the exercise as well.