Hyderabad: The International Organization Arbor Day Foundation has recognized the Hyderabad City as a “Tree City” for the year 2020. The Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister, KT Rama Rao shared the information in Twitter on Thursday.

KTR in a tweet said that, “Happy to share that @arborday foundation (which works with FAO of UN) has recognized Hyderabad as a Tree city of the world, the only Indian city to be included in this list. This is an acknowledgement of our efforts to improve green cover as part of #HarithaHaaram program”. The organisation recognized Hyderabad for the planting of 2.4 crore trees.

The International Organization Arbor Day Foundation mentions on its website that the recognition of a city as a ‘Tree City’ is based on the given below standards:

1. The city must have a written statement by city leaders delegating responsibility for the care of trees within the municipal boundary to a staff member, a city department, or a group of citizens.
2. The city has in place a law or an official policy that governs the management of forests and trees.
3. The city has an updated inventory or assessment of the local tree resource.
4. The city has a dedicated annual budget for the routine implementation of the tree management plan and the city holds an annual celebration of trees to raise awareness.