Planting evidence
Vibha Sharma

COPS are generally not associated with anything as pleasant as planting trees but Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Pratap Ramachander Dighavkar broke the mould when he recently received the prestigious Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award, under the government servants (individual) category.

The two main missions of this tough cop are: dealing with criminals with an iron hand and making the world a greener place to live. Dighavkar, who has the distinction of being one of the toppers in the commando course conducted by the Federal Law Training Centre in Georgia, USA, in 1996, has more than one lakh trees to his credit.

The Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Awards were instituted in 1986 to recognise contributions made by individuals and institutions in the field of afforestation and wasteland development. The award includes a medallion, citation and a cash prize of Rs 50,000.

Dighavkar, who talks of kadipatta, lemon and coconut trees in the same breath as Kalashnikovs and Smith & Wesson, has also been honoured with the President Police Medal in 2004, the Vanashree in 2003 and the Director-General’s Insignia for Meritorious Service in 2002.

He has controlled the underworld in his area with an iron hand and says that its activities have more or less ceased since he took over the charge of the Mumbai Zone II area. "Criminals, rapists and murderers do not deserve any mercy," he adds.

He says he has been planting saplings since he was in Class XII. " I involved people. At times I used persuasion, at times my position to motivate people. If every person contributed equally towards environment, there would be no drought or famine in the country," says the tough cop.

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