Information and Public Relations Department, Chandigarh, Punjab,December 31: The concerted efforts of Department of Forest and WildlifePreservation, Punjab has borne fruits as the forest cover has registeredprogressive rise by 11.63 sq. km in this year along with plantation of 60 lakhsaplings under various schemes.
Disclosing more information, Forest Minister Sadhu SinghDharmsot said that the Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh is committed to increasing green cover in the Punjab and taking adequateand effective steps in the same direction.
He said that as per State of India latest Forest Coverreport (released in 2020 by Government of India), the total forest vegetationcover in the State has increased by 11.63 Sq. KM which reflects the programsimplemented by the government is yielding positive results.
The Minister said to commemorate 400th Prakash Purab of SriGuru Teg Bahadur Ji, 60 lakh plants have been planted under various schemes inover 6986 villages in the State in this year.
He stated that with extension support, more than 19.5 lakhhigh quality clonal plants have been planted by farmers under Submission onAgro-forestry on their fields for which incentive to be disbursed to thefarmers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in AADHAR linked accounts.
Dharmsot told that this year, the department has introducedhigh value tree crop "rose wood" in Punjab in Phillaur & ChakSarkar forests besides planting of around five lakh plants of Sheesham andother trees have been carried out along Sutlej & Beas rivers.
He further said that final approval of working plans forforests in Shahpur Kandi (Pathankot), Ludhiana, Sangrur, Barnala and Mansadistricts obtained and in-principle approval for forests of Bathinda, SriMuktsar Sahib & Fazilka Districts was obtained from union government.
Revealing about another key initiatives, he said thatdepartment has given green signal to several infrastructural projects in Punjabincluding construction of railway lines between Mukerian- Talwara (27.70 KM),Bhanupali-Bilaspur line (Roopnagar) (8KM), doubling of Rajpura-Bathinda railwaytrack (67 KM) widening and strengthening of Bathinda-Malout road,Jalandhar-Kapurthala-Sultanpur Lodhi- Lohian-Gidderpindi road, SultanpurLodhi-Makhu road, Muktsar-Jalalabad road, Jalandhar- Hoshiarpur road, Thappal- Muhewal-Jinhari-Tarapur Lift Irrigation Scheme (Roopnagar) & in-principle approval forPunjab portion of Shahpur Kandi dam project and an International Standardecotourism project on Ranjit Sagar Dam obtained.
The Minister said that all this has been achieved inCOVID-19 times by shifting to online mode of processing of these cases.
Dharmsot further told that the forest department has set upthe first of its kind Nature Awareness Camp near Chamrod Village (Pathankot),which provides livelihood to local youth through Village Forest Committees. Headded that Local youth were given training in hospitality, nature guides forbird watching and other aspects of floral and faunal conservation; a "Zipline" of 200 metres has been established.
The Minister said a tree house and four all-weather resorttents (with attached bathrooms) for camping have been set up besides successfulParagliding pilots have been conducted in the area by experts and necessarypermissions now have been sought by Deputy Commissioner Pathankot and from theTourism Department to take it as regular adventure activity, permissions hasalso been sought by Deputy Commissioner & the Tourism Department for WaterSports including Jet ski, Parasailing. Further, to get nationwide recognition, "Booking.com"& "Make My Trip" have been approached for national outreach inbooking the Nature Awareness Camp. Similar ecotourism initiatives were alsoplanned for Harike & Siswan, he said.
On drive against encroachment, he said that after removingencroachment and hundreds of tonnes of dumped city garbage, two nature parkshave been established with walking trails, gazebo, rain shelter, benches &open gym for citizens established on Dalhousie Road Forest in Pathankot.
The Ministers said in fight against Covid-19, 75000 masksprepared by women SHGs and shared with public & local Governmentinstitutions and department prepared immunity booster tea as per AYUSHGuidelines & it has been distributed to officers performing duties on COVIDNakas.
He also informed that procedure for obtaining huntingpermits for wild boar & Neelgai, the process has been further relaxed toallow Panchayats to apply for such permits.
Dharmsot said that Beas, Keshopur & Nangal wetlands inthe State have been declared as internationally prestigious "Ramsar"Sites besides Chhatbir Zoo has been now inducted as a member of the WorldAssociation of Zoos & Aquariums.
He added that for the maintenance and upkeep of 550 plantsplanted to commemorate 550th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, aneffective supply chain was ensured by the department to replace dying plantsand the survival rate was around 71%.
The Minister said more than 3.6 lakh plants have beensupplied to people through I-Hariyali app during the current year adding asmany as 1246235 man-days of rural employment has been generated under CAMPAScheme of the State Forest Department during 2020-21 to raise 4710 hectareplantation.