‘Weighing down’ plantation drives

Can the success of a plantation drive be decided by a ‘record’? Is it possible – really possible— in today’s limited landscape, to keep creating a record every year? How feasible is such a plantation done with just one motive in mind—creating a world record!

Every year, the forest departments undertake tree plantation drives during the rainy season with the ‘proclaimed’ intention of increasing or restoring green cover. This green cover maintenance is mandatory for the wellbeing of the biosphere, biodiversity as well as the human beings. Here the intention should be honest—to plant species that would help conserve environment as well as the fauna— be it birds, beasts, insects or butterflies. If that foliage also helps in serving commercial benefits, it would be a boon. But, the intent should be philanthropic and not self-promotionary. Yes, once in a while, if such an effort results in a record—like in 2007—that will boost morale. Because, it involves a lot of planning, co-ordination and groundwork that cannot be done in a jiffy! But, like the trend that I notice for the past three-four years, if the authorities and the governments are only concerned with plantation for the sake of ‘showing the world’ or ‘boasting of achievement’, the plantation effort will be an eyewash, with little ‘fruits’ to bear in the years to come. It will in fact be a waste of resources—tax-payers’ hard-earned money that the government departments use as their personal funds— as well as a waste of efforts—especially of gullible school/college youngsters who get involved in such campaigns for a noble cause. How many saplings would survive? How many saplings planted in the previous years did survive? How many of them have either died from sheer negligence or uprooted to clear the land that was in any way just ‘lent’ for the ‘record-making’ process and never intended to be turned into a green patch anyway? This lending is done by farmers, corporate as well as public and private institutions and the land is reclaimed sooner or later for personal (farming), public or developmental works. In many places, large, full grown trees are felled to clear land for plantation. Otherwise tell me how come so much land gets available each year without even removing any existing infrastructure—whether on river banks or within various municipal limits? Planting trees back of beyond where their fate would remain anonymous would benefit who or serve what purpose? Wherever we run our eyes, we can only spot a jungle of concrete! Undernourished bougainvillea, ferns or Champa trees—like seen along flyovers and metro-lines— are of little use environmentally or biodiversity-wise. 

You may doubt what I say but it is a fact that when questioned, the officials concerned are never able to accurately answer them. (Here you must also recall the shameful fraud committed in the plantation drive along River Narmada in Madhya Pradesh last year) Yes, they would wish to gloat over the ‘record-breaking’ drive they were planning that year! And when the world has come to a halt due to COVID-19, a record-making plantation of 25 crore on one single day in UP is either very strange or extremely super heroic. You decide!