Odisha Government takes leaf from MP to save Mahanadi

BHUBANESWAR: THE Odisha Government appears to have been inspired by the record plantation drive by Madhya Pradesh Government along river Narmada. It has sent a team of officers to Bhopal to study the July 2 plantation exercise so that a similar plan can be adopted back here.
A team of three forest officers recently visited Madhya Pradesh where they made an on-the-spot assessment of the plantation drive as well as afforestation programme of the State Government.
The July 2 plantation drive of MP Government created a record as a whopping seven crore saplings were planted on a single day. The drive was called “Narmada Seva Yatra” which notched up the maximum plantations in a span of 12 hours.

Sources said, Odisha Government is keen to formulate a similar afforestation plan for Mahanadi. The objective is to check erosion in the catchment areas, stabilise the embankments and improve bio-diversity along the river.The Forest Department will make an assessment of the report the three-member team would submit and study the land use pattern before coming up with a full-fledged plan.
Interestingly though, the Narmada plantation programme of MP Government has attracted the attention of National Green Tribunal (NGT) which called for a detailed census.

While the MP Government asserted that 95 per cent saplings had a survival chance, the panel asked it to come up with a survey record to substantiate its claim. Comprehensive plantation drive reports and measures undertaken to save the saplings have also been sought by the NGT.