Shimla, Aug 14 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday inaugurated the 76th state-level Van Mahotsav at Kanlog in Shimla, and said that around 9,000 hectares of forest
land this year would be planted with trees under different schemes.
Sukhu added 60 per cent of these saplings would bear fruits as he also planted a deodar sapling during the event.
Additionally, he launched the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojna across all Assembly constituencies and virtually interacted with ministers and MLAs participating in the programme, and discussed forest conservation and afforestation measures in detail.
Addressing a gathering on this occasion, he said that Van Mahotsav highlights the importance of forests, often called the Earth’s lifeline. He said that the state government was working to protect and enrich the bio-diversity of the state. “These efforts will contribute to achieve the target of increasing 30 per cent forest cover by 2030,” he added.
The chief minister said that the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana would not only promote forest development, but also enhance public participation and strengthen the rural economy. “Under this scheme, mahila mandals, yuvak mandals, self-help groups and joint forest committees would plant and look after saplings on one to five hectares of designated forest land for five years. A budget provision of Rs 100 crore has been made for this purpose,” he said.
He said that the state government was also focusing on financial discipline for ‘vyavastha parivartan’ and introducing various reforms in the working of the Forest department. “The officers are being encouraged to dedicate more time to field work related to forest expansion and conservation rather than office routines,” he said.
He also gave cheques of Rs one lakh each to different mahila mandals for tree plantation under the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana. Apart from this, cheques of Rs 50,000 each have also been distributed under the JICA project. PTI/COR MNK MNK
