Bhubaneswar: A massive plantation drive of 6.30 crore seedlings is being planned across 1.30 lakh hectare of land, Minister of Forest & Environment Bikram Keshari Arukha said on the occasion of Van Mahotsav Week.
People across the state observe this week from July 1 to July 7. However, no special function was organised by the department due to restrictions amid the pandemic.
He said, “According to a survey, the state has a forest coverage of 36.14 per cent. Also from 2015 to 2019 the forest coverage has increased to 1160 square kilometre. The data shows that the state has done better than other states in forest management.” Around 13 thousand forest safety committees are working over 12000 square kilometre forest area. The state government had launched Biju Patnaik award for their appreciation.
In 2019-20, the green cover has been enhanced in 68.35 hectares of forest land. This apart, plantation drives were launched in around 3,000-kilometre wayside area. Around 3.75k saplings have been distributed in Bhubaneswar. Also in 2019-20, around 17 thousand hectares of forest land has been rehabilitated and restored, the minister claimed.
The state government has also collaborated with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for enhancing forest ecosystem. Last year in 25 thousand hectare forest land had been restored.
Similarly, in another project under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) around 8.16 lakh hectare bamboo forest and 3.23 lakh natural forest area has been restored in 2019-20. In seven forest ranges in the state, 4 thousand hectares of forest land has been used for medicinal forest and plants, he said.
On the occasion, the minister inaugurated plant sapling kiosks at Jagannath Vihar area and also launched a sapling distribution programme.