Man fined for ramming tree with SUV in Telangana

A fine of Rs 9,500 was slapped on a man for allegedly damaging a tree, planted as part of the Telangana government's green drive, in Siddipet on Monday by ramming his car into it.

The tree located near a medical college in Siddipet town, fell after being hit by the SUV, official sources said. They added that the accident took place due to 'negligent' driving.

The matter was reported to the officials of 'Haritha Haram', massive plantation drive of the state government. 

As per news reports, since late 2018, horticulture officers have collected fines of about Rs 1.2 lakhs as penalties for damaging trees. 

As many as 175 crore saplings have been planted, both within and outside forests, since the launch of 'Haritha Haram' campaign in 2015-16, the sources added.

According to the data released by Telangana Haritha Haram, in Siddipet district, in 2019, a total of 60,4068 were planted at 45 sites under the drive. 

READ | Hyderabad Encounter: Telangana High Court To Hear Case On December 12

Haritha Haram

Telangana Ku Haritha Haram is a flagship program of the Telangana Government to increase the present 24 percent tree cover in the state to 33 percent of the total geographical area. 

The first objective is to be achieved by rejuvenating degraded forests, ensuring more effective protection of forests against smuggling, encroachment, fire, grazing, and intensive soil and moisture conservation measures following the watershed approach.

The target was to plant 230 crore seedlings in the three years from the start of the campaign. 

Recently, Prakash Javedekar, Union Minister for Environment and Forests had appreciated the efforts of the Telangana state government to increase the green cover. 

In October this year, in Siddipet, a goat rearer was fined Rs 3,000 after the goat grazed on Haritha Haram planted trees. The owner of the goat was also asked to plant the equal number of trees that his goat had destroyed.

(With inputs from PTI)

READ | Telangana CM KCR Urges FM Sitharaman To Release Rs 4,531 Cr GST Dues

READ | Sudarsan Pattnaik Lauds Telangana Police Through His Sand Art In Puri