Jagatsinghpur: Saplings and plants worth lakhs of rupees supplied by the Forest Department to increase green cover in the district have been destroyed, thanks to the carelessness of the authorities concerned.
Although crores of rupees were spent under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNRGES) for plantation, it has not yielded the desired results.
The government had planned to plant saplings across the district as Jagatsinghpur is prone to natural calamities.
An amount of Rs 67.66 lakh was allocated by the District Rural Development Agency under MGNREGS to the Jagatsinghpur DFO and Rs 56.25 lakh to Rajnanagar DFO for the purpose this year.
But the saplings supplied by the Forest Department were damaged due to lack of proper care. The absence of fencing and irrigation destroyed thousands of saplings.
The Forest Department and the block administration had planted nearly 1,000 trees from the Dhuapada village of Korua panchayat to Osakana panchayat by spending Rs 3.60 lakh. However, most of the plants have withered.
Similarly, another Rs 1.63 lakh was spent for planting saplings on the bed of River Gobari at Kurki village of Naugaon block in 2016. Nearly 500 saplings were planted. After two years, 99 per cent of the trees have been destroyed.
Locals said that it was the negligence of the officials concerned that killed the saplings. They accused forest officials of not paying wages to the volunteers who took care of the plants. As a result many abandon the plants and they perish without care.
No official visits the nurseries to monitor planting operation. This has created resentment among green lovers who demand that the authorities take concrete steps to save the saplings.
PNN