The authorities at Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) are all set to launch the “Tree” app under its citizen app Panaji to track the growth of saplings planted across the city. 

How will it work? 
All the saplings would be registered on the tree app with their botanical and Konkani names along with their picture to maintain some sort of real-time tracking of the saplings. The database will have information like geolocation, height & fencing status. 

Objective 
The app will enable the authorities to track the saplings for their growth and also identify potential hurdles, if any.  This will allow for a system with preventive mechanisms and predictive mechanisms to emerge out of observing the growth and patterns of the saplings. 

The technology would prove to be beneficial in the long run and will help the authorities further plan strategies around plantations and post-plantation maintenance involved in plantation projects. 

To ensure healthy growth 
“By conducting these regular checks, it becomes easier to track the development of the trees over a period of time. This process also aids in pinpointing any factors that could inhibit their growth. For example, through monitoring, we will know if the growth is poor due to an attack by herbivorous insects or bugs, low temperature, inadequate watering, etc. After identifying this we will take the required care and ensure healthy growth,” the authorities said. 

Limited access 
The app will be available to the public but with limited access. It means the public will be able to see only the details and photos of over 1,004 saplings planted across the city. Eventually, IPSCDL will hold the core functionalities of the app with itself only.  

Innovative Technology 
This methodology will prove very beneficial for big-size plantation projects as it would allow the authorities to pre-empt the preventive steps while being ready for potential damage scenarios using the predictive analysis that the data will be able to offer. 

Eventually, the technology will pave the way for long-term reforms in the planning of green initiatives and come with a scope of scalability and innovation through tracking location and environment-specific patterns and data.