Most of the saplings planted near Chamundeshwari Temple, adjacent to Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel and close to the helipad with tree guards for its protection, need to be taken care as most of the saplings are either dead or on the verge of dying, allege walkers, who added that even the tree guards which were donated are damaged with some of them fallen on the ground. The walkers have urged the authorities concerned to take steps to at least preserve the tree guards till the saplings grow big and able to sustain by themselves.
It costs lakhs of rupees if not crores to grow those plants from seedlings and ‘contractors’ are paid an arm and a leg to plant them properly and build an effective guard so the young plants can grow up to be life giving/saving for birds, animals and humans. Let not the abundant rains and the efforts of the people whose tax money was spent for the betterment of the world go to waste.
The ‘contractors’ MUST be held responsible for the successful rooting and guaranteed growth of the tree for upto three years from the time of planting. Only when these ‘contractors’ are held liable for their shoddy and unscrupulous work, forced to pay a huge fine, blacklisted and debarred from being awarded any further work will our tax money be used appropriately. The government employees who are supposed to hold these ‘contractors’ to account must also be taken to task if there are any short comings. If there is any nefarious interference from polititicans, that should also be checked strongly. The government should release money in three tranches over those three years and a check on the health status of the trees must be made before any money is released for that year. To accomplish all this, we need TRANSPARENCY’ and the government departments should have these details published on the internet as after all, the politicians, government workers and the contractors are all reporting to the citizens who elected them and provide for their jobs and their salaries from the taxes we pay.
In the mean time, for the sake of the trees and the entire ecosystem that it nurtures, we need to ensure that they get rooted during this wonderful monsoon. Let’s PLEASE take responsibility with every 3-4 persons walking there taking care of two trees as they are children that need our help. Let us ensure that these plants have a proper/rigid support to grow and have protective sticks so they are not eaten by stray cattle or goats or even bent down becuase of the wind. This is easy to do and is a small group sets an example ALL will follow. In the summer for the next couple of years when we go for a walk let each one of us take a bottle of water for these plants every day so they root well. In three years time they will be so well established that they will help us for the next 300 years!
Thank you.