Saplings planted for green drives in city set to be geotagged

Noida: The district environment committee has directed officials to geotag all saplings planted during green drives for better monitoring. Chairing a recent meeting, district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma instructed officials to ensure 100% geotagging, warning that salaries for Feb would be withheld if they failed to comply.
The committee reviewed last year's plantation drive, which saw 9.61 lakh saplings planted, of which 9.4 lakh were geotagged. Officials have also been asked to identify land for the upcoming monsoon plantation drive, as the state government targets planting 35 crore saplings this year. Nearly 10 lakh saplings will be planted in Gautam Budh Nagar alone, with a special drive scheduled from July 1-7 as part of Van Mahotsav celebrations.
Departments including the forest department, rural development, public works department (PWD), and development authorities have been given specific targets. Native species such as shisham, neem, amla, lemon, bamboo, and babool will be planted to improve green cover.
The committee also discussed rainwater harvesting, with environmentalist and committee member Vikrant Tongad stressing that govt and private institutions should clean and repair their harvesting systems before the monsoon.
Concerns were raised over the power department's practice of leaving excavation sites uncovered after laying wires. The committee recommended setting a standard operating procedure (SOP) to ensure proper restoration of dug-up areas.
Traffic police have been instructed to regulate traffic and monitor vehicular pollution in the city. Officials were also told to address environment-related complaints promptly and submit timely reports.