Only Clay pots to be procured for plantation for games

Eco-Friendly Initiative for Commonwealth games

What started off as a glaring example of the wide disparities in estimates of government departments has now ended up being an environment-friendly initiative?

The expenditure finance committee of Delhi government has recently ruled that none of the 15 lakh pots (along with plants) to be procured by the city government for the purpose of beautification during the Commonwealth Games should be of concrete. Only earthen pots will
make the cut and that too the ones that are priced less than Rs 70 per pot.

While the decision has obvious environmental implications, earthen pots are easier to dispose of the main reason for the ruling, sources say, is the huge disparity in price of pots as submitted by the environment and forest department and the PWD.

PWD had given a proposal to buy pots at a little over Rs 259 per piece, while the environment department had settled for Rs 70, raising a stink of corruption that was comprehensively quelled by the EFC’s decision to make Rs 70 the ceiling.

According to the minutes of the meeting : ‘‘Cost of earthen pot and plant may be on an average of Rs 70 per plant. The committee approved this average cost with the direction for timely completion of the work. Provision for contingencies at 2% may be provided. PWD may revise their estimate appropriately.’’

Elsewhere the document clearly says that no cement pots may be used. Even the spare ones need to be earthen. Revealed a senior official: ‘‘PWD had explained their estimate by saying that they were getting designer cement pots etc but the price difference was too much and was bound to have raised questions. Moreover, cement pots are extremely cumbersome and their disposal is a problem. Taking all these things into account a clear directive was given about earthen pots.’’

The environment department will buy 10 lakh pots for which the EFC sanctioned Rs 7 crore. For PWD the amount sanctioned is nearly double — Rs 13 crore — for buying just 5 lakh pots. Senior PWD officials say the amount includes the costs of setting up a nursery for the plants but the minutes do not mention that. Finance officials confirmed that expenses for a nursery have also been sanctioned.

Most of the plants however will be brought in from the Forest Research Institute of Dehradun and also from Vishakhapatnam. There is also a provision for individual department raising the plants — which is the head under which the extra money has been sanctioned. The chief minister who was present in the meeting suggested that an inter-departmental committee should be constituted to coordinate, design and procure the potted plants from various sources. Officials will visit sites like Gajrola, Haridwar etc to select the plants.

"Only those flowering plants should be selected which may blossom during the October, November months...The non-flowering plants should be such as to give lush green appearance," the minutes read.