SGPC Renews Its Contract With State Forest Department For “Buta Parshad”
SGPC Renews Its Contract With State Forest Department For “Buta Parshad” The SGPC has renewed its contract with the state Forest Department for offering “buta parshad” (free saplings) to devotees at the Golden Temple. The contract has been renewed for three years and is extended till 2021. The signatory authority from the government was Forest Officer, Amritsar, Rajesh Gulati, and Deputy Secretary Lakhbir Singh represented the SGPC. As per the original concept, the saplings are distributed in the name of the newborn daughter or newlywed daughter-in-law of the family. The idea was further widened and the “buta parshad” was offered to anyone approaching the dedicated counter located on one side of the entrance plaza of the shrine. Rajesh Gulati, District Forest Officer, said saplings of different varieties of plants, including guava, mango, sukhchain, rose, kaner, jamun and neem, were prepared in the department’s nurseries. “We have entered into contract with the SGPC on annual basis. The SGPC gives us Rs 3.5 per plant since 2013 through the Nanhi Chhaan Public Charitable Trust, run by Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal. The rest of the expenses are looked after by us. Our teams visit the ‘buta parshad’ counters on regular basis to see the requirement,” he said. Kanwaljit Kaur, incharge of the Golden Temple counter, said normally 500-550 plants were distributed daily, but on special occasions like Gurpurbs, Masya, and Sangrandh, it escalated to 1500-1550 daily. Also Read: #WorldBiofuelDay: World's Largest Community Kitchen To Run On Biogas Soon Now as per the new agreement, the cost is now increased Rs 6 per plant. It was also agreed upon that the wages of a person who would deliver the plants would also be borne by the SGPC. -PTC NEWS
