Punjab would launch a massive afforestation plan byplanting 53 lakh saplings on 692.645 hectares at the cost of Rs 222.15 crore inthe state. This will help further greening of the highways with tall plants,habitat improvement in Bir Moti Bagh and development of the Siswan communityreserve during the current fiscal.
This will be done under the annual plan operation (APO)for 2021-22 of the Punjab State Compensatory Afforestation Monitoring and PlanningAuthority (CAMPA) of the Forests and Wildlife Preservation department approvedat the maiden meeting of the steering committee, chaired by the ChiefSecretary, Ms. Vini Mahajan, here on Tuesday. The approved plan will be placedbefore the Union Government for funds allocation.
Acting on the directives of the Chief Minister CaptainAmarinder Singh, the committee approved the purchase of the wood saving devices forforest fringe villages of kandi areas at the cost of Rs 408 lakh. Besides, afully automated cattle pound would be constructed in Patiala district at thecost of Rs 210 lakh along with a demonstration plot of bamboo for farmers at anoutlay of Rs 392.95 lakh would also be made.
Sharing details of the plan, the Chief Secretary said anafforestation drive would be initiated to mitigate the impact of air pollutionin 9 polluted NACs like Dera Baba Nanak, Mandi Gobindgarh, and Ludhiana at anoutlay of Rs 307 lakh. Besides, afforestation would be undertaken in the areaof 5,401 hectares under the NPV component at the cost of Rs 9,970.25 lakh.
The Additional Chief Secretary Forests, Anirudh Tewari,while giving background information about the Punjab CAMPA, apprised the steering committee that the CAMPA funds were being judiciously utilized forcompensatory afforestation, restoration of ecological services, and otherconservation activities in the forest areas for the purpose of management,conservation and development of forests and wildlife as per the CompensatoryAfforestation Fund Rules, 2018.
In the last five years, the Department of Forests andWildlife Preservation has contributed to greening and biodiversity managementefforts in the state by planting 20,631 hectares of government forest landunder the flagship programs of CAMPA and 1,178 hectares of non-forestinstitutional lands under Green Punjab Mission in a mutually exclusive mannerto enhance the ecological health of the Punjab Landscape, he added.
Giving a comprehensive presentation on physical andfinancial progress under the scheme during the previous year, the PrincipalChief Conservator of Forests, Jitendra Sharma, informed that during 2020-21, atotal of 311.978 hectares plantation was done under compensatory afforestation,7896.218 hectares of previous year’s plantations were maintained besideundertaking maintenance of 104387 tall plants and 352414 plants at the cost ofRs 2007.61 lakh.
He said under the NPV component, plantation of 4,458hectares and maintenance of 8,606 hectares of the previous year were successfullycarried out under various plantation models at the cost of Rs 5,419.8 lakh. Hesaid 7,481 cooking connections, 182 community solar cookers, and 788 solarlights on village phirnis (boundaries) were provided in the forest fringevillages of the kandi areas, which has helped to reduce the biotic pressure onthe forests.