Ahmedabad, July 12 (IANS) Western Railway’s Ahmedabad Division on Sunday launched a large-scale tree plantation programme across 10 railway locations in Gujarat, setting a target of planting more than eight lakh saplings as part of the Gujarat government’s statewide ‘Mega Tree Plantation’ campaign.

More than two lakh saplings have already been planted in the first phase on railway land at Sanand under the ‘Van Kavach Yojana’.

According to Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Ved Prakash, the plantation drive is being carried out in collaboration with the state government’s Forest and Environment Department to promote environmental conservation and expand green cover on railway land.

“A total of four lakh saplings are planned to be planted on 1.20 lakh square metres of railway land between the Sanand Yard and the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) line. Under the Van Kavach Yojana, two lakh saplings have been planted on available railway land at Sanand,” he said.

The remaining saplings will be planted in the subsequent phases.

The plantation campaign covers 10 major locations under the Ahmedabad Division, including Ambli Road-Goraghuma, Charodi-Jakhwada, Ambli Road-Chandlodia, Goraghuma-Sanand, Jakhwada Railway Station, Sanand-Charodi, Sanand Yard-DFC Line and two sites between Sabarmati and Chandlodia.

Apart from the Sanand project, plantations have also been carried out at Sabarmati, where 9,000 saplings were planted over 8,400 square metres, and at Ambli Road, where 1,020 saplings were planted across 2,200 square metres.

Officials from the Railway administration and the Gujarat Forest Department jointly participated in the plantation drive. The programme was attended by DRM Ved Prakash; Dr Meenal Jani, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Ruchi Dave; and other senior officials.

Officials said the joint initiative would help increase green cover while strengthening local ecological conservation and supporting sustainable development goals.

The drive includes a wide variety of plant species, including 75,000 Fountain Grass plants, 51,000 Bougainvillaea, 18,000 Bamboo, 14,000 Tecoma, 12,000 Palash, 6,000 each of Nagod and native Mehendi, and 4,000 each of Karanj, Parijat, Kachnar and Amaltas, along with 2,000 native Babul saplings.

The plantation programme forms part of the state government’s statewide Mega Tree Plantation Campaign, in which Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah participated in his parliamentary constituency of Gandhinagar.

The campaign has set a target of planting 35 crore saplings across the state in a single day.

The Railway administration and the Forest Department have appealed to citizens to participate in the campaign and assist in protecting and nurturing the newly planted saplings.

–IANS

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