Telangana state to raise green cover by 10 per cent

Hyderabad: On an average, there are 45 trees per head in Telangana state. However with the implementation of Haritha Haram, the government is aiming at increasing it to 80 trees per head, said the special chief secretary Mr Ajay Mishra. The aim of Haritha haram is to increase the present forest cover of 23 per cent in the state to 33 per cent.

Municipal Minister Mr. K. T Rama Rao said "Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao is unhappy with even 80 trees. He wants to increase the forest cover in the state further." He said the government will plant around 2.3 billion saplings and will also look after the plants. To ensure their survival, the government will also geo-tag the plants, he said.

Ahead of the Environment Day, Mr Mishra told Mr Eric Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), about how the government is converting the reserve forest into urban forest by using 10 per cent of the area as visitors zone and the rest 90 per cent as conservation zone. He also spoke about the importance of the Telangana's state bird Indian Roller.