FOREST DEPARTMENT SETS TARGET TO PLANT SAPLINGS ON 8,000 HECTARES OF LAND, 50 LAKH (5 MILLION) SAPLINGS OF VARIOUS SPECIES TO BE PLANTED THIS TIME. EMPHASIS IS ALSO BEING LAID ON PLANTING CHINAR SAPLINGS FOR THE FIRST TIME
Face2News/Shimla
This time, the state-level Van Mahotsav (Forest Festival) will be organized on August 14 in Nihari of Ghumarwin, which will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. This information was shared by Dr. Sanjay Sood, Head of Forest Force (HoFF) and Chief Project Director of the JICA Forestry Project.
During the Van Mahotsav, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu will distribute saplings to school children as well as to people working in the field of forest conservation. Dr. Sanjay Sood gave strict instructions to the Bilaspur Forest Circle and Bilaspur Forest Division for the successful organization of the event. It is noteworthy that Dr. Sanjay Sood recently held a meeting with all the Divisional Forest Officers of the state via video conferencing and gave instructions to make the plantation drive a success.
Dr. Sanjay Sood stated that this year the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has set a target of planting 50 lakh saplings on 7,000 to 8,000 hectares of land in the state, out of which saplings will be planted on about 4,000 hectares under the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana.
It is to be noted that these days, during the monsoon season, the plantation drive is in full swing across different forest divisions of the state. Based on the geographical conditions and balanced climate of various districts, saplings of Chinar and other species are being planted. The department has resolved to fulfill the target of Mission-32—which aims to increase the state’s green cover to 32 percent—by the year 2030.
JICA Project sets a target of 500 hectares
The JICA Forestry Project has set a target to plant saplings on 500 hectares of land this season. It may be mentioned that the JICA Forestry Project has played a significant role in bringing a green revolution across 22 forest divisions of the state by planting saplings of various species on 8,343 hectares of land from 2018 to 2025. Like every year, this time too, the forestry project will work towards planting saplings at the departmental level and through public participation to make the Mission-32 target a success. Notably, under the state government’s ambitious Mukhyamantri Van Vistar Yojana, the project also succeeded in planting various species on 124 hectares of land last year.
“The state-level Van Mahotsav will be organized on August 14 in Nihari of Ghumarwin under the Bilaspur Forest Division, which will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister of the state, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. The Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has set a target of planting more than 50 lakh saplings of Chinar and other species on 7,000 to 8,000 hectares this year, and this process is continuously underway. To increase the green cover in the state to 32 percent by the year 2030 under Mission-32, the JICA Forestry Project, along with the Forest Department, is playing an important role. I want to appeal to the people of the state to give their full support to this campaign and make a valuable contribution to forest conservation.”
– Dr. Sanjay Sood, Head of Forest Force, Himachal Pradesh.
