Jharkhand to get Rs.800 crore for forest livelihood project

Jharkhand is all set to get Rs.800 crore for advancement of livelihood and forestry for ecological security, an official said Sunday.

The Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) and department of expenditure of the Finance Ministry of the central government have agreed in principle to clear the project, the official said.

The forest department of Jharkhand has prepared a Project on the Advancement of Livelihood and Forestry for Ecological Security (Palash) which will be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

JICA has been funding such projects in India since 1991. The first phase of JICA-funded work extended from from 1991-2001, and the second from 2002-2012.

The third phase will stress livelihood and sustainability of the forestry projects.

A national-level deliberation took place May 8 and 9 at Ahmedabad. Officials of the central government's MoEF, as well as officials from 13 states, including Jharkhand, and JICA participated in the deliberations. Jharkhand made the Palash presentation before officials of JICA and the central government.

"The MOEF and the Department of Expenditure of Finance Ministry of the central government have, in principle, agreed to our project. We are in touch with JICA authorities to give final shape of the project. Once it is cleared, we will get funds through JICA so that the project can be moduled as per the focus of JICA," Rajiv Lochan Bakshi, an official associated with Palash, told IANS.

Under Palash, 12-14 clusters in 10 of 24 Jharkhand's districts will be covered. Each cluster will constitute 7,000 hectares of land. Around one lakh hectares of land are to be treated by the state forest department.

The themes included within Palash are: Watershed approach, forest ridges, sources of water, and local participation. The focus of the project is livelihood of people living in forest and fringe forest areas through forestry measures, and increasing the productivity of forest and allied areas.

The project will be funded in the form of a soft loan at 0.5 percent interest, over a period of 40 years.