Vizag Gears Up for Massive Tree Plantation on World Environment Day

To complete the mission of planting one million saplings over the next year, the Vizag city administration plans to plant one lakh saplings on World Environment Day. This extensive program marks the progress of recovering the city’s green cover, which was reduced to only 14% by the Hud-Hud cyclone in 2014. 

Recently the city’s cover has improved and increased to 35%, earning it a spot among the top cities in urban forestry. District Officer Mangamma stated that the officials plan to expand the initiative to achieve 50% green cover over land areas. The estimated number of trees to be planted in the coming year is one million, with every tree being geo-tagged. 

Additionally, District Collector M N Harendhira Prasad affirmed that the ‘Green Vizag Mission’ will be effectively carried out in July. Multiple stakeholders will be participating in the initiative as part of the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs.  These stakeholders include the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, Visakhapatnam Port Authority, the forest department, and various industries.

Many innovative coastal strategies were implemented by the city such as planting Palmyra and Casuarina trees along the entire Coast Battery to Bheemli. This initiative covered a distance of over 30 kilometres. 

Along the municipal guidelines, Vizag has approximately 14,500 hectares of reserved forest area and non-shrubs are growing in the non-forest area. With the ambitious plan to plant one lakh saplings in Vizag on World Environment Day, it is expected that the city will achieve a significant increase in green cover. 

The city’s current green cover is 35%, which is more than the 27.5% national average, almost matching Chandigarh’s average of 35.5.

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