Deputy Chief Minister K. Narayanaswamy on Saturday said that the plantation drive to increase green cover in the State would be successful only when the planted saplings were protected with care. Earlier drives showed that survival of the plants always remained tough.
He was taking part in the 70th Vana Mahotsavam of the Forest Department at Tukivakam village of Renigunta mandal. He said it was a welcome sign that the Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) had embarked on planting 10 lakh saplings, focussing on commercially viable plants. When he was the samithi president at Karveti Nagaram, he had introduced a scheme of distributing two coconut trees to each household every year.Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta said that at present, the greenery in the district remained at 39.2%, and one more percent would be added in the immediate future.