Potted flowering plants will now line the key arteries and pathways to slums in the capital city as part of the civic body’s efforts to score some brownie points in upcoming pan-India cleanliness survey.

Ranchi deputy municipal commissioner Shankar Yadav on Thursday said the civic body had held initial talks with nursery owners and floriculturists in the city and work would begin next week.

“We had a meeting with nursery owners and floriculturists earlier this week. They have agreed to our proposal of putting up potted flowering plants on approach roads to urban slums, along key stretches and public places as part of the beautification of the city,” Yadav said.

Sources in Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) said the move was aimed at scoring additional points during field verification as part of Swachh Survekshan 2020.

“The flowering plants will not only add to the beauty of the city roads, parking lots and commercial areas but also enhance the beauty of approach points to urban slums, which are often littered with cow dung. This will not leave a good impression on the teams of external assessors who will be coming for field survey after January 15,” said a source in the RMC’s sanitation team.

Around 20 nursery owners and floriculturists have agreed to the RMC proposal and more are expected to come on board in the next few days.

“We will hold meeting with more nursery owners and floriculturists on Saturday. We will give planters the option to select the patch that they would like to adopt for putting up potted flowering plants. The planters will not only provide the plants in pots, but also take of their maintenance,” RMC city manager Rupesh Ranjan said.

Though the RMC had left the selection of flowers to the nursery owners, sources said civic body officials had suggested flowers that were vibrant in colour and required less maintenance.

“The nursery owners only need to look after the plants. We will arrange water to spray on the saplings. Some sites, which have been selected after consultation with nursery owners, include the stretch between Jail Mor to Lalpur and the approach roads to Bandhgadi and Gangu Toli,” Rupesh Ranjan.

Similar potted plants will be kept in selected patches across all the wards in Ranchi depending on the interest shown by the nursery owners, he added.