Rajya Sabha MP Santosh Kumar’s Green India Challenge ropes in celebrities, leading to plantation of about 10 crore saplings.
The Green India Challenge (GIC) launched by Joginapally Santosh Kumar, General Secretary of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, is now picking up the momentum and promises to sweep the country green. GIC, which promotes planting three tress by each participant to compensate for 550 litres (0.78 kg) of oxygen consumed by each of us annually, has led to planting of about 10 crore saplings in the country since its launch in 2017.
Under GIC, after planting a sapling, one is expected to tag three people and the chain continues. Of course, the bigger challenge is raising saplings successfully. Those who do so are to be given Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Vanamitra award.
The campaign is outgrowing its original ask of planting three trees. People are now adopting from villages to forests for maintenance, reforestation and afforestation. While Santosh Kumar has adopted 2,000 acres of forest block at Keesara, ‘Baahubali’ actor Prabhas has adopted 1,650 acres in Khazipally Reserve Forest land located near Dundigal. Hetero Group chairman B Partha Sasadhi Reddy is adopting Sarsapur forest block and actor Nitin and politician Gokaraju Ranga Raju plan to develop 300-600 acres.
Other GIC participants include actors like Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, Payal Rajput, Naveen Krishna, Sudheer Babu, Shraddha Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Samantha Akkineni, Tejaswi Madivada, Rana Daggubati, Naga Chaitanya, Shruti Haasan, Rashmika Mandanna and Lavanya Tripathi.
Sportspersons are represented by Sachin Tendulkar and P V Sindhu, too. It is reported that efforts are on to interest Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too.
It is now to be seen if GIC, too, will capture the world imagination like the other Hyderabadi initiative, Manju Latha Kalanidihi’s Rice Bucket Challenge, which promoted donation of a bucket of rice to the needy.