Karimnagar: Miyawaki, a technique to achieve 33% green cover

Karimnagar: It is well-known that the State government has enacted new Panchayat Raj and Municipal Acts with an intention to keep the villages and towns clean and also to increase the green cover from the existing 19 per cent in the State up to 33 per cent to put a check to growing pollution levels.

During the first and second phase of Palle Pragathi, the government focused on sanitation and other aspects related to it. Similarly, the State government in the second year of its rule introduced Haritha Haram programme noticing the fast depleting forest cover in the State.

In the initial years, the government implemented the plantation programme with full of commitment involving public representatives and officials of various government departments, including students from various educational institutions. However, in later stages it slowed down. With the need to take up massive plantation programme, the State government has now adopted a new method called Miyawaki to increase the forest cover. Even Telangana Rashtra Samithi working president and IT Minister KT Rama Rao also appealed to the officials to adopt Miyawaki method of planting saplings during the Haritha Haram programme.

The Miyawaki method of afforestation was first introduced by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, in which, urban areas are developed into mini forests using few cents of land for enriching the environment by increasing of green cover using only manures and biofertilizers.

In the Miyawaki method, the scientific way of planting of saplings will be done. First the location is selected based on soil quality, water availability and with secured boundary wall, seven sectors are developed with each bed digging up to 0.60 mtrs depth followed by filling with various layers of rice husk, farmyard manure and organic manure.

Subsequently, planting points are marked at a grid of 0.75M X 0.75M and then species of high canopy (16 varieties), medium canopy (19 varieties) and low canopy (18 varieties) will be planted in these planting points.

The National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, Ramagundam recently launched the pilot project for planting of saplings through Miyawaki technique to develop some of the NTPC areas into dense forest in about 1,400 square meters.

About 2,900 saplings of 53 varieties of species were selected for planting under the pilot project by NTPC Ramagundam. The project was developed in association with Peddapalli District Administration & Forest Department and executed by Telangana State Forest Development Corporation Limited (TSFDCL). As it is a pilot project, the progress will be closely monitored so that it can be replicated in other areas on a large scale.

Launching the pilot project in NTPC, then District Collector, Devasena, lauded the efforts of NTPC for taking initiation for conserving the environment and increasing the green cover through the innovative technique of Miyawaki.

Such kind of plantation programmes not only help in increase of green cover but also help in recharging the water table and thereby supporting the biodiversity, she added.

Deriving inspiration from NTPC, the Karimnagar Police Commissioner decided to go for Miyawaki method of plantation programme in about one acre of land at the City Police Training Centre in Karimnagar.

On Monday, BC Welfare and Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar launched the programme by planting around 12,500 different varieties of saplings.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that due to several man-made mistakes, the forest cover is fast depleting. Growing of plants in limited places and converting some regions into urban forests through Miyawaki system is a wonderful initiative, he said, suggesting that everyone should plant as many saplings as possible and should take care of them till they are on their own.

Commissioner VB Kamalasan Reddy stated that the fast depletion of forests was leading to scanty rainfall. If the forests continue to perish, then nothing would be left for the future generations and they would have to face a lot of problems, especially with regard to water and air.

Urging people to watch the video of former President late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam where he explained clearly about the effects that would have on people due to the depletion of forests, the CP told that the police personnel were actively participating in the State's plantation drive, and now taken up the large scale plantation through Miyawaki system in the Commissionerate limits.