This story is from June 6, 2020

Haryana to plant 1.15 crore trees in 1,100 villages

On World Environment Day, Haryana education, forest and tourism minister Kanwar Pal announced to plant 1.15 crore fruit-bearing and shady trees in 1,100 villages of Haryana under a plan to conserve the environment.​
Haryana to plant 1.15 crore trees in 1,100 villages
Haryana minister Kanwar Pal and Haryana PCCF Dr Amarinder Kaur plant trees in Yamunanagar on Friday
YAMUNANAGAR: On World Environment Day, Haryana education, forest and tourism minister Kanwar Pal announced to plant 1.15 crore fruit-bearing and shady trees in 1,100 villages of Haryana under a plan to conserve the environment.
Kanwar said, “We have selected 50 villages each in 22 districts for a major plantation drive planned for the coming monsoon season. The trees will be planted at temples, gurdwaras, matthas, village boundaries, cremation grounds, panchayati lands, and other available spaces at the rural-level.”
“The plan is to increase and maintain the green cover for around 50 years.
The trees include fruit-bearing, shady and such trees on which the birds can also nest and breed. Rather than planting commercial or expensive wood, our target will be to plant trees for maintaining greenery.”
When asked about success on the survival of these trees, Kanwar said, “These trees will not only be planted to complete the targets, but it will be ensured that they grow well and healthy. For the same, a variksh mitra (tree friend) will be appointed in every village, who will take care of these trees and will be given an honorarium by the government.”
Kanwar said, “We have also decided to plant orchids on the panchayat land which will boost village income. As per conventional practice, eucalyptus and poplar trees are planted in these panchayat lands, which are cut down under commercial activity after around 7 years and the greenery is lost after the trees are chopped. But the orchids will provide fruits and generate panchayat income for up to at least 50 years.”
Kanwar accompanied by Haryana principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) Dr Amarinder Kaur planted herbal and fruit-bearing plants at a function in Yamunanagar on Friday.
Dr Amarinder said, “We are planning to complete the target of planting 1.15 crore trees in 1,100 villages by the end of August. Under this campaign, trees including mango, jamun, harar (terminalia chebula), baheda (terminalia bellirica), amla (phyllanthus emblica), neem, sohanjna (moringa oleifera) and some other fruit-bearing trees will be planted.”Kanwar said, “To boost tourism in the rural areas of Haryana, discussions are going on to bring a policy to launch home stays at village-level, so that tourists can come and stay in rural areas and experience the life of the state. ”
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About the Author
Jaskaran Singh

Daily news reporting from the field of agriculture, farmers, crime, health, environment, education, politics, and feature articles from Ambala (with coverage of Kurukshetra & Yamunanagar).

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