Piplantri Plants 111 Trees on Birth of Each Girl Child | Fusion - WeRIndia

Though the attitude towards girl child have changed over the years in India, many people still feel the birth of girl child is burdensome to the family. To change this attitude, Piplantri, a small village with a population of 5,138 in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan following a unique concept to save the girl children as well as to protect the environment.

According to this tradition, the villagers plant 111 trees including neem, mango, amla etc. on the birth of every girl child. They will take care of the plants and ensure they bear fruits as the girls grow up. The concept was introduced by the former village sarpanch Shyam Sundra Paliwal on the memory of his daughter who died a few years ago. It is estimated that nearly 60 girls are born here each year and the greenery in the village has increased proportionately due to planting of trees.

In certain cases, a village committee identifies the families where the parents are unwilling to accept the girl child and takes the sign of parents on an affidavit. The affidavit includes the promise of parents that they would send their daughters to school regularly, take care of the trees planted on her name and would not marry her off before the legal age. The villagers collect Rs. 21,000 from the villagers and Rs. 10,000 from the father of the girl and deposit this amount for the girl child for a period of 20 years.

The villagers plant 11 trees for the death of each family member as well. They learned to make use of Aloe vera for various commercial uses and for their livelihood. This green village is renowned for its banning on alcohol, cutting trees and open grazing of animals. The village has its own website. The villagers are happy and claim that there has not been a single police case reported in this village since 8 years.

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