₹6 Crore For 20,000 Saplings: AMC Faces Flak Over Costly ₹3,000 Per Tree Plantation Proposal

A controversial proposal to spend ₹6 crore on planting and maintaining 20,000 trees over three years will be tabled before the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) Recreation and Cultural Committee on Monday. The Garden Department scheme allocates ₹3,000 per tree for planting and up-keep, drawing sharp scrutiny over a glaring policy reversal and high expenditure.

The move marks a complete U-turn from the AMC’s earlier public stance. The civic body had previously announced that any organisation wishing to undertake tree plantation in the city would receive saplings free of charge from the municipal corporation, provided the entity handled post-planting maintenance at its own expense.

₹3,000 Per Tree: Catch Foundation Tipped For Contract

Under the new proposal, the AMC plans to outsource the plantation of roughly 20,000 trees across various Town Planning (TP) roads, roadsides, and central verges of Ahmedabad to Catch Foundation. Unlike the previous self-funded model, the private organization will receive ₹3,000 per sapling to carry out the operations and guarantee survival over a three-year window.

The contractor's scope of work includes:

• Digging pits and applying necessary fertilisers.
• Installing protective tree guards around every sapling.
• Maintaining the trees continuously for three years.
• Replacing any plant that dries up or dies during the contract period at no extra cost.

Questions Raised Over AMC's Soaring Plantation Costs

The ₹6 crore price tag for just 20,000 saplings has sparked intense debate within municipal circles. Despite allocating substantial funds annually for large-scale tree plantation drives, many saplings dry up every year due to inadequate post-care.

Critical voices are now questioning why the civic administration is agreeing to pay ₹3,000 per tree to an external agency when civic policy initially mandated free sapling distribution with zero maintenance costs to the municipal treasury. Attention now shifts to Monday’s Recreation and Cultural Committee meeting to see whether officials clear or shelve the controversial proposal.