Chandigarh: Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on Friday sharply criticised government officials over inflated plantation claims during the Van Mahotsav celebrations, urging departments to stop making exaggerated claims and focus on actual results.
Addressing the event, Kataria questioned the official figures released every year on tree plantation drives. He remarked that if all the saplings claimed to have been planted over the years were added together, “not even an inch of land would remain vacant.”
“Stop the tall claims and falsehoods. Exaggerating achievements has become our habit,” Kataria said, adding that officials often receive recognition while the ground reality remains unchanged.
Taking a swipe at past campaigns, he said some officers had even been honoured in Delhi for plantation efforts, yet barren hills continued to remain barren despite repeated drives.
Despite his criticism, Kataria acknowledged that Chandigarh’s collective environmental efforts had helped increase the city’s green cover to 51.6 per cent, one of the highest in the country. However, he stressed that merely planting saplings was not enough and that ensuring their survival was equally important.
Highlighting the importance of environmental conservation, Kataria said trees were essential for preserving water resources and food security. “If there are no trees, there will be no water. Without water, there will be no food,” he said.
He also noted that Chandigarh was fortunate to have many 50-year-old banyan trees, stressing that they must be protected at all costs.
Expressing concern over the effects of climate change, Kataria cited the rapid melting of the naturally formed ice Shivling at the Amarnath cave shrine this year as an example of worsening environmental conditions.
