IRS Officer Creates 75 Man-Made Forests Across India, Hailed As ‘Greenman Of Punjab’

Our environment is, unfortunately, deteriorating at an alarming speed due to the increasing pollution levels in our cities. Thankfully, there are many nature lovers who are actively coming forward to bring back our lost green cover and restore nature’s balance.

Ludhiana’s IRS officer Rohit Mehra has earned the sobriquet of the “Greenman of Punjab” for creating 75 man-made forests (ranging from 2000 square feet to 66,000 square feet) in various parts of India during the last 4 years. Moreover, he has contributed towards the creation of these micro-forests without any charges or fees, just to save the planet.

Following the ancient Indian techniques of Vriksh Ayurveda and Miyawaki, the forests have grown 10 times faster and are 30 times denser and more bio-diverse. The saplings, too, have grown 17 feet in a year. Naturally, many flora and fauna, especially birds, have started re-appearing and returning back to these forests.

As per a report in Jagran, AIARS Mehra explains, “Just like there is Ayurveda for humans, there is ‘Vriksh Ayurveda’ for trees. We have planted very dense forests using Vriksh Ayurveda and Miyawaki. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the municipal corporation have asked us to plant 300 more forests.”

As an ode to the founder of Sikhism, he is now looking at raising awareness among Sikh devotees, Tribune reports. He aims to start creating more such “micro-jungles” (patches of dense tree growth) along with them in an attempt to increase the green cover of the state. “Appeals are being made in gurdwaras, seeking saplings as donations, and people were coming forward,” he stated.

He has already made it to the Limca Book of Records for making the first vertical garden in the region. He covered the outer wall of the Ludhiana Aaykar Bhavan building with green foliage, hanging earthen pots, plastic bins, and bottles.

After setting up more vertical gardens at major public places in Ludhiana and Amritsar, he is now is establishing “Nanak Vans”, which is a series of green patches. He explains, “We are using varieties that grow fast and are dense, by using the techniques described in Vriksha Ayurveda. Whatever agriculture waste we get in the vicinity of the land available to us for growing the small forest (2,000 to 6,000 sq ft), is used to fertilize the soil where saplings are planted.”

For instance, he has set up one such “van” in the vicinity of a rice husk refinery in Jagraon. There, the refinery’s rice husk waste and biomass were innovatively used to make the soil fertile. He then grew trees like neem, bargad, and peepal that complement each other. Rohit has now tied up with the CII for setting up ‘Nanak vans’ at three other locations.

Tribune also reports that he is currently continuing on his green mission to plant 1 crore saplings of diverse species of herbs, shrubs, and other trees by the end of 2020. To realize this goal, he has started roping in several educational organizations to promote the idea of micro and mini jungles near their institutions and homes.

This venture was inaugurated at a function held at Ludhiana’s Global Earth Public School in Sihar village. Around 400 saplings were planted on the school’s campus. “Contrary to the common practice, we chose saplings of those native species which have varied requirement of specific minerals available in average soil,” he said. These consisted of different varieties of economically, medicinally, and ecologically important plants.

Sanjiv Maini, who is the convener of the project, stated that the school authorities have been advised to ask students to adopt and nurture at least one sapling. “Students taking the best care of their plants will be felicitated during the annual function of the school,” he said.

You can watch one of his interviews, from earlier this year, here:

We applaud Mehra’s unique ways of doing his bit for the environment. More power to him!

Cover Image Source- Left, Right