The Tree plantation projects are usually proactive during the monsoon season but subsequently, after 3-4 months, they fail because of the lack of a proper watering plan for the saplings planted. Many state governments allot a fortune of money for the plantation drives but saplings usually end dying due to lack of a proper watering schedule.
So whenever a sapling plantation is carried out, a water plan is a must for at least the next 10 months especially in India from September to June. As we prepare a plan we must ensure that we water the plants at least twice a week if not thrice a week. The components of the water plan, such as manpower, community mobilization, water tanks, source of water, cost of the whole plan should be critically considered.
Even if the governments have multi-crore budgets they are all failing miserably on the planning part. One such example is Madhya Pradesh, the government planted saplings around the Narmada River and not even 5% of the saplings survived because the plantation was not followed by proper watering.
The message I am trying to convey here is that it’s better to plant fewer saplings and nurture them rather than planting in mass and then not being able to take good care of them.