Telangana Haritha Haram: Objective, Impact, Benefits

Telangana Haritha Haram, often hailed as one of the largest afforestation efforts globally, is a flagship program launched by the Government of Telangana. This massive tree plantation drive, which translates to "Green Garland for Telangana," aims to dramatically increase the state's green cover and restore ecological balance. Since its launch, the haritha haram programme has mobilised government bodies, local communities, and citizens, transforming the landscape of India’s youngest state.

The initiative is a crucial component of the state’s strategy for sustainable development, focusing on combating deforestation and mitigating the effects of climate change through aggressive tree plantation drives across both forest and non-forest areas.

What is Telangana Haritha Haram Programme?

The Telangana Haritha Haram programme was officially launched by the Chief Minister of Telangana, K. Chandrashekar Rao, on July 3, 2015. The core objective of this Green Telangana Initiative is to increase the state’s forest and tree cover from the initial 24% (or 25.16%) of the total geographical area to the desired level of 33%, aligning with the National Forest Policy of 1988. The initial target set for the project was the planting and rejuvenating of 230 crore (2.3 billion) seedlings across the state over three years.

This massive target was strategically divided into two main components:

• 130 Crore Saplings: To be planted in areas outside the notified forest areas (Social Forestry).

• 100 Crore Saplings: To be planted within the existing forest areas, achieved through a combination of fresh plantations and rejuvenation activities.

Objectives of Green Telangana Initiative

The primary goal of the Green Telangana Initiative is quantitative (reaching 33% green cover), but the program encompasses a wide range of ecological and socio-economic objectives:

• Environmental Stability and Ecological Balance: To restore the natural habitats and counter the adverse effects of deforestation and rapid urbanisation.

• Mitigation of Climate Change: Trees sequester carbon dioxide, helping to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

• Soil and Water Conservation: The root networks of trees reduce soil erosion, improve soil quality, and enhance the water-holding capacity of the landscape, aiding groundwater recharge.

• Protection of Existing Forests: Rejuvenating degraded forests and ensuring effective protection against threats like smuggling, encroachment, fire, and grazing.

• Creation of Urban Lung Spaces: Developing forest blocks adjacent to major cities and towns as urban parks to act as pollution sinks and recreational areas.

• Biodiversity Enhancement: Providing habitats for a variety of plant and animal species, thereby promoting biodiversity conservation.

Key Pillars of Haritha Haram (Tree Plantation Telangana)

The implementation of Telangana Haritha Haram is executed through a two-pronged strategy: focusing on forest rejuvenation and conducting massive plantations outside forest areas.

1. Initiatives in Notified Forest Areas

The major thrust inside forests is on rejuvenation and protection:

• Forest Protection: Implementing stringent measures against illegal activities such as smuggling, encroachment, and grazing.

• Afforestation: Raising new plantations in open and blank forest lands.

• Rejuvenation: Employing silvicultural interventions like coppicing and singling to revive degraded forest patches.

• Soil and Moisture Conservation: Carrying out large-scale soil and moisture conservation works, often following a watershed approach.

2. Initiatives Outside Forest Areas

This component focuses on large-scale tree plantation activities under Social Forestry, aiming to make it a people’s movement. This includes planting in areas like:

• Road-side avenues

• River and canal banks

• Institutional premises (schools, hospitals)

• Housing colonies and community lands

• Municipalities and industrial parks

• Barren hills

Diverse Plantation Models under Haritha Haram

To ensure comprehensive green cover across all types of land, the haritha haram programme adopted multiple, specific planting models:

1. Avenue Plantation: Plants are lined along National Highways, State Highways, and village roads to provide shade and reduce pollution. Species include Neem, Kanuga, and Rain Tree.

2. Block Plantation: Plantations raised in wastelands, common lands, and Panchayat lands, often near villages, to meet local needs for fuel, fodder, and non-timber forest products.

3. Institutional Plantation: Planting activities undertaken in schools, colleges, government offices, and private institutions, with the responsibility of maintenance typically falling on the institution.

4. Tank Fore Shore Plantation: Planting along the foreshores of tanks and lakes using species suited for moist areas like Neredu and Arjuna, often for water conservation and beautification.

5. Homestead Plantation: Encouraging residents to plant fruit and medicinal saplings around their houses and colonies to meet household needs.

6. Agro-Forestry Plantation: Encouraging farmers to integrate commercially viable trees (like Teak and Bamboo) on their farmlands to diversify income and ensure economic security.

7. Palle Prakruthi Vanams (Village Nature Parks): This initiative uses dense planting techniques, like the adapted Miyawaki method (known as the Yadadri model), to create dense, miniature forests in village areas, greatly enhancing the local ecosystem and biodiversity.

Impact and Achievements of Telangana Haritha Haram

The scale of the Telangana Haritha Haram has resulted in significant and measurable environmental achievements:

• Record Plantation: By the early 2020s, several hundred crore saplings had been planted, with figures reaching over 266 crore saplings planted by 2022.

• Increased Green Cover: Official reports, such as those from the Forest Survey of India (FSI), have confirmed a measurable rise in the state's forest area. Telangana recorded a remarkable 7.7% increase in green cover between 2019 and 2021, one of the greatest improvements in the country.

• Role Model Status: The initiative has been recognised internationally and nationally as a success story, being cited as the third-largest afforestation program in the world after similar projects in Brazil and China.

• Urban Greening: The program has successfully developed numerous urban open spaces and parks (Urban Forest Parks and Palle Prakruthi Vanams), serving as crucial lung spaces for cities like Hyderabad and greatly improving urban biodiversity.

• Community Mobilisation: The scheme is widely considered a successful "people's movement" due to the active involvement of citizens, students, and various institutions, which is essential for the long-term protection and nurturing of the saplings.

Benefits of Haritha Haram Programme

The far-reaching impact of the haritha haram programme extends beyond mere numbers, delivering substantial benefits to the environment, economy, and public health: