Plants for green Telangana: Tummala

Roads and Buildings Minister Tummala Nageshwar Rao today said that the flagship program of Haritha Haram is for green Telangana to get abundant rains. Participating at a green drive program at National Academy of Construction premises here at Madhapur on Saturday, the minister stated that the government has taken up the prestigious green drive to expand the forest cover.

 Right now the forest cover is 24 per cent and needs to be expanded to a minimum of 33 per cent to attract better rains, he noted. The government is involving the people in a big way to ensure that the green cover is for better future of our state, Nageshwar Rao stated. He also exhorted the people, institutions and officials to make sincere efforts to protect the saplings planted. All district collectors are on mission mode to implement the green drive to reach the target of planting 46 cr saplings this year he said. A total of 230 cr saplings will be planted over five years to transform Telangana into a green corridor, the roads and buildings minister said. The Government will encourage the people to turn out in huge numbers for the massive afforestation drive, he added. (NSS)