Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) ambitious campaign to plant five lakh saplings across the city has run into an acute roadblock. Official data reveals that out of a mapped target of 3.67 lakh trees, the civic body has managed to plant barely 97,181 saplings so far, less than 20 per cent of its overarching goal of 5 lakh sapling plantation. Compounding the shortfall is the region’s emerging water crisis, which has triggered administrative anxiety over sustaining young saplings and forced officials to reconsider further plantation drives.

 

According to official progress report received from the Garden Department, NMC, institutional and roadside greening has come to a temporary halt. Against an allotment of one lakh saplings for Government and private premises, merely 3,000 have been planted. Similarly, roadside plantation along the Ring Road (20,000 target) and Champa tree plantation on dividers (10,000 target) registered zero progress, while block plantations stand at 500 against a planned 50,000. The only noticeable progress has come from Gorewada Biodiversity Park, where 28,325 of 40,000 planned saplings have taken root. Underlining the climatic constraint, a Garden Department official noted, “This is a drought year. Planting lakhs of trees is futile if we cannot provide them with water.

 

A crucial policy decision on the city’s water supply will dictate our next steps. Without guaranteed watering arrangements, pushing aggressive plantation makes little practical sense.” To prevent saplings from wilting without depleting potable reserves, the civic body is exploring treated wastewater alternatives. Ganesh Rathod, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Garden Department, NMC, said, “Sustaining the planted saplings remains the real test. Municipal Commissioner Dr Vipin Itankar has directed the Public Health Engineering wing to micro-plan the supply of treated effluent from Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) using hydrants and tankers for roadside dividers and gardens. While CSR receipts for highway stretches have faced delays, the campaign is a year-round exercise, and field officers are monitoring growth.”