IIT Madras Launches Green Drive to Plant 1,200 Trees

IIT or Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) launched a Green Drive in its campus on September 1, 2017. The idea was to restore the green cover lost during the Cyclone Vardah in December 2016 because of which it lost 650 trees (non-native species).

IIT Madras has decided to plant at least 1,200 trees during the Green Drive campaign. The plantation drive will be implemented in two phases and the total budget allocated for it is Rs. 25 lakh. With an objective to ensure only native species aboriginal to soil were being planted, IIT Madras had taken utmost care while selecting the species. The government of Tamil Nadu also provided a list of approved species.

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Dean of International Relations and Alumni, Prof. P. Nagarajan highlighted that the alumni of IIT Madras had vivid memories of greenery on the campus. The campaign launched by IIT Madras attracted around 150 first time donors.

The saplings and trees were being sourced from the Agriculture Engineering College and Research Institute (Tamil Nadu) and Agricultural University located in Trichy. The aim of IIT Madras is to plant 600 trees in Phase I in which the cost of each tree is Rs. 2,000 including tree guards, tree, maintenance and labour. IIT Madras will display the names of the donors suitably. According to sources, each tree would be at least 10 feet tall. Some of the tree species included are: -

• Wood Apple
• Maramalli
• Arasan
• Neem
• Gulmohar
• Mango

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IIT Madras has been successful in raising Rs. 17.4 lakh from 181 donors. Alumni of IIT Madras have played a vital role in contributing to the Green Drive. Interested people can also contribute to the campaign by visiting the official website.