Himachal: Sukhu launches scheme to increase state's green cover
Chief minister (CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday launched the 'Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana' from Hamirpur, which aims to increase the green cover in the state.
Terming it as a significant step towards environmental conservation and community participation in forest management, Sukhu said that the scheme not only aims to increase the green cover by planting fruit-bearing trees on barren and degraded forest areas but will also generate employment and income for local communities by ensuring participation of mahila and yuvak mandals besides self-help groups.
The CM handed over certificates in this respect to two Mahila Mandals from Nadaun, viz: Amlehad and Bhawdan, which will carry out the plantation activities on two hectares of forest land and ensure its maintenance for a period of five years.
The CM also launched the 'Green Adoption Scheme'. In the initial phase, Ambuja Company would undertake plantation work on 25 hectares, while the Adani Foundation and UltraTech would adopt 10 hectares each. He handed over certificates to these organisations as a mark of official recognition.
During the event, Sukhu also inspected the passing-out parade of the newly appointed van mitras and interacted with them. He said that the forest department had been facing a shortage of field staff, which posed challenges to forest protection. To address this, appointments of van mitras have been made based on merit, with many young women taking the lead in securing these roles.
CM Sukhu assured them that the government was committed to framing future policies that safeguard their careers and recognise them as true guardians of the forests. 'The state government was focusing on women empowerment and the reservation for women in police recruitment has been increased to 30 percent and in Lahaul-Spiti, all key administrative officers, including the Deputy Commissioner were women with decision-making authority,' he said.
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