Green cover: Project to grow trees on roadside

BANGALORE:In a major bid to increase tree cover along the roadside as a means to provide avenue trees for shed and food for the birds, the Forest Department is coming up with a ‘Roadside Plantation Project’ to be implemented across the state.“The project has been sanctioned and we have started working on it,” Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Development) G V Sugur said.“We are now in the process of identifying the roads.Raising of seedlings for the purpose is also under progress and this will take another 10 months,” Sugur explained.Speaking to The New Indian Express, he said, “The total cost for the project has been estimated to `13 crore.For the next six years, we are planning to cover the roadside stretch extending up to 65,000 kms, and covering about 6,000 kms of roadside every year.” “Tree plantation will be taken up on three major roadsides - national highway, state highway and Ddstrict major roads. A committee of senior forest officers has been constituted to identify appropriate species and develop planting techniques for raising the plantation,” he added.The committee has set forth specific criteria for plantation according to the area chosen for the species of plants and its compatibility with agricultural crops so as to avoid hostility from adjoining cultivators. According to the species prescribed by the committee, local plants like neem, peepal, tamarind and mango, jamun and other local species will be planted in the dry and transition zones.In the Malnad and Western Ghats, sampige, mahagony, halasu, veteria, hippe and other suitable local species and further in the Coastal zone plants and trees like mango, veteria, tare, uruhonne, halasu, sampige and holedasavala will be planted.Explaining about the planting technique to be followed Sugur said, “At least one-year-old plant with minimum 7-8 feet tall seedlings raised in 14X20 inches size high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bags need to be planted and the pits measuring 1mtr X 1mtr X 1mtr at a spacing of 10 mtrs on either side of the road shall be excavated to accommodate 200 plants/km.” More than the planting, nurturing of the plants is important, he said. “Towards this effect, protection of the seedlings with staking and tying of thorns will be done every year for three consecutive years. Once the plants are planted, for a period of five years, the watch and ward person shall carry out replacements and maintain thorn fencing and staking,” he added. “In the dry and transitional zones, watering will be done five times in the first year and three times in the second and reasonably in a spread manner during summer,” he said.