Patna, Jan. 12: The green drive has turned dry.
Taking inspiration from a village in Bhagalpur district, Nitish Kumar had made it mandatory for all new party entrants to plant a tree sapling and had asked all legislators, parliamentarians and ministers to follow suit. Even for renewing the party membership, it is mandatory for a sapling to be planted. Not only that, it is the responsibility of the member concerned to look after and nurture the tree.
But the drive, christened Harit Bihar Abhiyaan, has had a stunted growth.
On Wednesday, The Telegraph visited a few places in Patna where MLAs and MLCs of the Janata Dal (United) had planted saplings. It found that most of them have dried up and some have been used for fodder for goats and cattle.
In October 2011, JD(U) state president Basishtha Narayan Singh, along with MLC Sanjay Singh, planted two guava tree saplings in Maharajganj locality of Patna City as part of the Harit Bihar Abhiyaan.
Four months on, of the two trees, one has dried up and another has been eaten up by a goat. “Neta log lagaye thhe yaha paudha lekin usse bakri char gai (Leaders had planted trees but goats have eaten them),” said Naseer Lal, a resident of the locality. “After planting the saplings, no one takes care of them. They are not watered regularly, no wonder they have dried up. They should have made an enclosure to save the sapling from cattle and goats. They don’t care about the plants, it is just a ritual they perform because their boss has asked them to.”
Renu Devi, another local resident who was present during the plantation, said: “Basishtha-dada and Sanjayji had come to plant these trees but since then, they have not visited once to enquire about the condition of the saplings. It is their responsibility to ensure the safety of the plants, not ours.”
Sanjay Singh admitted having planted a tree sapling in Patna City but denied doing so in Maharajganj locality. “I have planted a tree in Patna City but that’s not the place, it is somewhere else, I forget the name of the locality,” he said.
To increase the number of plants, Nitish had donated a month’s salary before flagging off the Green Bihar Campaign last September. The idea was to buy saplings as the party has decided to plant 50 lakh plants across the state. He had got the idea from Dharhara village in Bhagalpur district where villagers plant a fruit-bearing tree on the birth of every girl child.
At Anisabad, near Chitragupta Samuday Bhavan, JD(U) legislator Poonam Devi has planted over a hundred Sagwan, mango and pupil trees. All are dead and dried up.
Sugan Prasad, a resident of Anisabad, said: “They had planted the trees in October 2011, but most have dried up. Many have been eaten by cows and other animals. There is no plan in place to ensure the safety of the plants.”
The MLA also planted several saplings in flowerpots at a community hall located in Rajiv Nagar. The flowerpots are missing now, said the hall’s caretaker, Rajendra Prasad. “Poonam Devi planted some saplings in flowerpots but those have been taken away by some people. I don’t think anybody has the time to keep tabs on a sapling once they have planted it.”
Poonam Devi’s defence summed up the attitude of JD(U) leaders to what many think is a noble initiative. “I had distributed 20,000 saplings in my constituency for different localities. I also planted many of them but I do not think that it is a big issue if the plants have dried up or have been eaten by animals. Of some 20,000 saplings, if 5,000 have been destroyed, then it’s not my fault. There may be other factors, you cannot just blame me for this,” she said.
So far, 80 per cent of the JD(U)’s legislators have donated a month’s salary for the cause but the exact number of plants will be officially released by the party on Sunday.
Basishtha Singh, the state party chief who is in charge of the green campaign, said: “The leaders who plant the trees are responsible for their safekeeping. They are responsible for ensuring the safety of the plants. But since you say that many of the plants have dried up, I will find out the reason for it. I will ask the members to be more attentive while planting saplings. It is a big campaign which will continue for two more years and every member has been asked to take it very seriously. From now, I will ensure that the leaders keep a regular tab on the trees planted by them.”
On Thursday, JD(U) leaders planted 25 fresh saplings of Ashok, wood apple and mango trees at Gulzarbagh locality in Patna City area. Basishtha Singh, along with Sanjay Singh and food and consumer protection minister Shyam Rajak planted the saplings. “It is part of the ongoing campaign,” Basishtha Singh said.
