Industries told to take up plantation

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JUNE 17. The Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Saturday warned the industries that the Government would be forced to resume their open land, if they do not use it for plantation of saplings and rainwater harvesting.

Launching the "One day, one lakh plantation" programme at the sprawling Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) campus at Balanagar and inaugurating the attractively done up Patelkunta Park, both taken up by the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA), Mr. Naidu referred to the way HMT having 2200 employees and spread over 700 acres has kept the open space idle for years.

"The HMT itself should have developed the area by raising plantations, instead of making the HUDA do the job. I am asking other industries too to either take up plantations or hand over the land to Government for using it for other productive purposes".

It was quite an impressive sight with 6000 children from 250 schools wearing "clean and green" caps, filling up the entire 75- acre open space, joining the Chief Minister in planting 30,000 saplings. It marked the 21st round of "clean and green" programme taken up on every third Saturday of the month. Impressed by the gathering of children, he asked them to clap if they approved such programme and they responded with a thunderous applause.

He said as against 27 crore saplings to be planted this monsoon, throughout the State, the target will be raised to 50 crore saplings every year from next monsoon. He also spoke of bringing about a comprehensive legislation on conservation of water, sapling plantation and environment protection.

"We need to make sapling plantation programme a culture. May it be home, office, school, wherever there is little space, we have to plant a sapling. In future a city will not be judged by its affluence but a green and healthy environment. And only when we make the environment green and people healthy, can we turn the State into Swarna Andhra Pradesh".

He said the State was making rapid strides in different fields. Outside the country, the moment somebody says he is Indian, the first enquiry they make is about Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh. Children from Andhra Pradesh fared well in various competitive examinations. They topped in the entrance examinations for admission into prestigious Indian Institute of Information Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, JIPMER and Karnataka Common Entrance Test.

The Home Minister, Mr. T. Devender Goud, representing Medchal constituency where HMT is located and Mr. Sharma of HMT, spoke. The Roads and Buildings Minister, Mr. K. Vijayarama Rao, the Municipal Administration Minister, Mr. N. Md. Farooq, Dr. Alladi P. Rajkumar, MP, Mr. G. Sayanna and Mr. Sripathi Rajeshwar, MLAs, Mr. T. Krishna Reddy, Chairman of HUDA and Ms. Rani Kumudini, Ranga Reddy District Collector, attended.

Ms. Lakshmi Parthasarathy, vice-chairperson of the HUDA, said the "one day, one lakh plantations" is being taken up apart from HMT campus (30,000 saplings), at BHEL, Ramchandrapuram (25,000), N. G. Ranga Agriculture University, IMARATH research centre, Apparel Park and Army Firing Range, (10,000 each) and ARCI, Balapur (5000). This will substantially increase the

lung space which was woefully low for the city at present.

The Chief Minister, Mr .N. Chandrababu Naidu, listening to suggestions from the Home Minister, Mr T. Devender Goud, and the MCH Commissioner, Dr.P. K. Mohanty, walking down the pathway of the Banjara Park in Hyderabad on Saturday after launching the `Clean and Green' programme.

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