Reluctant teachers affect plantation drive in Himachal: Report

Lack of enthusiasm in school teachers and no encouragement to students have affected the massive plantation drive in Himachal Pradesh, said a report.

The report was submitted by the state legal services authority to high court Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir on Thursday. The drive was launched by the chief justice.

As part of community service, the plantation drive was initiated by the state legal services authority in 2014-15 in coordination with the state education department and the forest department and by involving students from all schools above primary-level.

The report said 539,876 students of 4,580 schools planted 592,478 saplings.

The Himachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority had constituted a team of advocates to inspect the plantation sites and to submit a report on the survival rate of plants and maintenance of sites.

The team of around 200 advocates visited various sites in several groups during January-February this year, prepared reports and gave suggestions to make the project more fruitful in future.

The team expressed satisfaction with the survival rate of plants planted in forest areas but not in school premises.

It attributed the low survival rate of saplings planted in school campuses to lack of proper sites and fencing, construction activities in the schools, lack of enthusiasm in teachers and no encouragement to students by giving incentive like additional marks for such programmes.

They suggested holding workshops for teachers to make them aware of their role in inculcating a love for the environment in students and to enlighten them of their fundamental duty enshrined in the constitution to protect and improve the environment.

The chief justice asked additional chief secretary (education) P.C. Dhiman to exhort the teachers for better participation in the programme as it is not only a part of the school curriculum but also a fundamental duty, an official statement by the high court said.

According to a Forest Survey of India report of 2011, out of the state's geographical area of 55,673 sq km, 3,224 sq km is under very dense forests, 6,381 sq km under moderately dense forests and 5,074 sq km under open forests.