The State Government has decided to go for massive plantations of trees in banks of all streams and rivers with the objective of maintaining their perenniality.

No doubt, this is a good effort on part of State Government to create “built-eco system” throughout the State, which will improve the beauty of the entire State. But the blue print on the massive tree planting and the financial expenditure should be made public for seeking their opinion.

The trimming of a river means the maintenance and management of a river in a good form or in a neat position. Both sides of the river are planted, mostly with reverine plant species to check the erosion of the banks. At least 500 metres of lands on both sides of a river, as far as practicable, should be planted with different kinds of saplings, mainly tall planting, to achieve greater percentage of success.

Recently, the Government of Telengana has enacted a new Act called, the Telengana Panchayat Raj Act 2018 which generally aims to take up plantations as per local needs in and around the villages and to ensure minimum 85 per cent survival of the species. A plantation register must be involved in plantation operations. Similarly, the river bank plantations must be carried out with the objective to provide sustainable living of the sorrounding villagers. A specific law for the same must be enacted for smooth management of the policy.

The motto should be maintaining the perenniality of the river stream, recharging the sub-soil water table through restoration of stream flow, promoting micro climate of the region to abate the rising temperature of the atmosphere, specially during summer and also countering the “Kalabaisakhi” and climate change.

Choice of plants is an important factor. Plantations of local needs of fruit bearing trees like mango, jackfruit, Jamun, tamarind, Sonjana, tal, etc should be undertaqken which will besides meeting their core purposes, will also cater to the need of locate cottage industries and different food processing industries. Even massive bamboo and Saibai grass plantations can be carried out for economic development of the local mass. If the perenniality of each river is sustainably maintained, it will help fish cultivation as well. All these will help local young people get employment and go a long way in tackling effectively the unemployment situation of the country.

First of all, the catchment areas of every river, rivulet and tributary, including the hill stream, should be rigidly protected and prevented from tree felling and encroachment. Similarly, the watershed areas of every river must be protected efficiently like catchment areas. The area lawfully is to be declared as protected area. The social conservation measures are to be taken up efficiently with effective watershed management provisions polices and planning. The food bearing trees are to be protected and whereever necessary, the saplings of food bearing trees are to be planted. The plants needed by the herbivorous animals should be restored. The water holes and the water bodies within the catchment areas and watershed area should not be touched. All kinds of water conservation measures should be followed to maintain perenniality of the streams.

The river trimming work is not new to India. When the writer was a student of Dehradun based forest college, he got practical training on the CHO- control measures carried out in hill streams to control soil erosion and maintain pereniality of the river streams. Such types of biological operations were carried out and this was quite successful during seventies. Of late, in the Ganga purification programme, the Sonjana and Kochila plants are planted with other riverine species along the banks of the river to purify the water. The selection of plant species is crucuial as they conserve and build the soil. So, the planners should select the species, which are suitable to the particular environment to build the ecological complex along the banks of the river.

In the last “ Man ki baat” programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he appealed to the people of the country for collection of rain water during rainy season for their annual needs. Our people know how to collect rain water for their family uses. In coastal Odisha, every family has a man made pond or tank for collection of rain water and canal water for their annual domestic uses and cultivation of indigenous fish, besides raising kitchen gardens. They know how to harvest rain water for their individual purposes.

There are also common ponds in every village for harvesting of rain water for common uses. This is required in tropical lands. Tamil Nadu has advanced much in this respect. The digging of private ponds or creation of water harvesting structures in the private land requires funds. The local Governments should provide this.

If the entire physical position of the Mahanadi river is analysed, it will be seen that, the river has total 1,40,716 sqkm of catchment areas. While 65,580 sqkm areas come within the State of Odisha, rest 75,136 sqkm come within the State of Chhatisgarh. The 75,136 sqkm catchment areas are very important as they are potential watershed areas of the river, which provide major water sources to the river. The areas are in the Amarkantak plateau of the Eastern Ghat. The Mahanadi river starts from the plateau. The rest 65,580 sqkm of catchment areas, which come within the Odisha State, are subsidiary areas, which also provide lesser volumes of water to the principal stream. The catchment areas and watershed land are most important for a river to maintain its perenniality. The total number of tributaries of the Mahanadi is 45. Now Chhatisgarh has either constructed completely or carrying out construction of nearly 200 small to large dams on the main stream of the Mahanadi and other water resources of the river.

Tel river is only major tributary of Mahanadi in Odisha. It has nine sub-tributaries. Now, the whole catchment areas of Tel is eroded. So the water bearing capacity of the Tel river, the main tributary of Mahanadi, is becoming dry. The whole catchment areas as well as the watershed areas of Tel are coming within Odisha and within the portion of the Eastern Ghat range, which need perfect ecological management for their rehabilitation and conservation of water resources. The total length of Mahanadi is 963 km, but the deltaic land is 107 km where 20 branches and sub-branches act as distributaries. The whole deltaic area will go dry and fall ecologically defunct if the Mahanadi water is obstructed by Chhatisgarh.

(The writer is a senior forest officer and enviornmentalist, 9937460649 (M), nadiya.kanungo@gmail.com)

State’s plantation drive in riverbanks praiseworthy