Tripura sanctions Rs 5 crore for plantation project

AGARTALA: The Tripura government has sanctioned Rs 5 crore under the Roadside Beautification and Plantation of Trees (RBPT) Scheme for roadside plantation along the 13,120-km stretch of roadways, including 853km-stretch of national highways in the state.
The state council of ministers in a meeting has decided that the roadside plantation along a 125km-stretch between Badharghat in Agartala and Sabroom will be completed by next month.Education minister and the spokesperson of the cabinet, Ratan Lal Nath, said that the forest department was made the nodal department for execution of the project and other line departments have also been roped in for implementation of the project. A state-level committee, with the chief secretary as its chairperson, has been constituted for the purpose.
Nath said that according to a budget announcement, the state government has committed to provide a monthly assistance of Rs 200 per family for the upkeep of plants on the roadside in front of their houses. "Plantation is a seasonal exercise carried out in monsoon. We had a plan to start the programme last month but formulating policy and managing funds delayed the launch of the project. Tripura has set a record by planting more than 6,000 saplings in a minute and now the entire cross-section of the society is engaged in plantation activities," Nath said.