Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday directed forest officials to take up plantation in the city in such a way that citizens should feel that they are in a forest. He directed forest officials not to spare any TRS leader also if involved in wood smuggling.

Mr Rao was speaking at a review meeting on environment protection and development of forests that was held at Pragathi Bhavan.





Mr Rao said, “In the HMDA area, there are about 1.5 lakh acres of forests blocks in which there are no forests. The number of vehicles in Hyderabad is increasing every day and we should be careful that Hyderabad does not face pollution issues like Delhi.”

He said growing trees in every park and every forest block in and around Hyderabad by the end of three years could help reduce pollution. “The citizens should feel like they are in the forests,” Mr Rao said. He directed forest officials to curb smuggling activity in the forests and wanted wood smuggling brought down to zero.

He ordered the forest department to invoke the PD Act on smugglers wherever necessary and not come under political pressure. He directed the officials to come up with an plan to plant 100 crore saplings by the next monsoon.