Hyderabad: Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari on Wednesday participated in a workshop on plantations on irrigation lands as a part of the Telangana ku Haritha Haaram program.
Speaking at the meeting she said “The program has not only rejuvenated degraded forests, it also helped in protecting forests from threats such as smuggling, encroachments, fire and grazing. The green cover in the state has increased by 7.7 percent. A perceptible change in the landscape of the state both in urban and rural areas is also visible”.
As per orders from the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, plantations were taken up on irrigation lands from last year. In order to assess the feasibility for taking up plantations, joint field visits were conducted by district level teams, said a press release.
The eight district teams suggested a draft model action plan for taking up block and linear plantations which was presented during the workshop on Wednesday.
Chief Secretary directed the district officials to prepare a micro plan for block plantation in their respective districts.
“While there is huge potential for canal bund plantation, commercially valuable fruit bearing plans should be taken up in block plantations which will not only increase greenery but will also provide revenue to the panchayats,” said Santhi Kumari.
She said that plant species like bamboo, which will generate income for number of years, should be encouraged.
Additional collectors, district forest officers and irrigation officials of Jogulamba Gadwal, Nizamabad, Mahbubunagar, Medak, Nagarkurnool, Rajanna Sircilla, Siddipet and Suryapet districts attended the workshop.
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