Bharat Vikas Parishad plans to disperse 1.5 crore seeds

GURUGRAM: An NGO plans to release 1.5 crore tree seeds in the Aravalis with the help of drones on Sunday, a plan that it says has the best chance of ‘greening’ the hills.

But it’s a theory environmentalists are not convinced about because of the choice of seeds and the lack of a comprehensive study on the effect of plantation drives in the Aravalis.

The Gurugram chapter of NGO Bharat Vikas Parishad is planning to disperse the seeds in green areas along the Gurugram-Faridabad Road through five drones. The drones will fly at a height of 40-50 feet and release seeds over areas, including Ghata and Gwalpahari. A total of about Rs 1 lakh will be spent on the drive. While the NGO was initially thinking of releasing seeds in thousands of balloons, the plan was dropped later on Friday.

The drive will be carried out in the presence of state environment minister Vipul Goel. The NGO called it “an easy and effective way” to increase green cover in the Aravalis. “This is a mega plantation drive. We are using peepal, sheesham, bargad and jamun seeds, among others. Even if 5% of the 1.5 crore seeds germinate, it will mean the planting of over seven lakh plants,” said Purshotam Agarwal, president, Bharat Vikas Parishad (Gurugram chapter). Asked if any experts have been consulted for choosing the tree species, he said: “We are in touch with the forest department and following their guidelines.”

“I have already told the NGO not to use any balloons. They have assured us that they won’t take any step which is not environment-friendly,” environment minister Vipul Goel told TOI.

Environmentalists, meanwhile, said experts should be consulted while carrying out such drives. “These are just publicity tactics. These species are not native to the Aravalis and are likely to have a low survival rate. If balloons are used, they will create heaps of trash, posing threat to wildlife and birds that may eat them,” said Vaishali Rana Chandra, an environmentalist.

“Many plantation drives carried out by the forest department and MCG in the past should be assessed. Were they failures that we have to do this air broadcasting of seeds? There have also been groups that used seed bombs or broadcast seeding methods, but they didn’t work. You have to pick hardy dhau, doodhi, dhak, bistendu, ronjh and kaim for any plantation,” said Vijay Dhasmana, an ecologist.

