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Tree Plantation
The government has replaced the system of awarding green credits immediately based on the number of trees planted with granting credits after five years of restoration of degraded forest land, once 40 per cent canopy cover is achieved. The environment ministry revised the methodology for calculating green credits for tree plantation, first notified on February 22, 2024, through a new notification issued on August 29. The credits are rewarded under the Green Credit Programme. Green credits are rewards given for taking voluntary steps to protect the environment. Individuals, communities and companies can earn them through activities like planting trees, restoring mangroves, saving water, practising sustainable farming or managing waste in an eco-friendly way. Under the new system, credits will be awarded only after a minimum of five years of restoration work and once the land achieves at least 40 per cent canopy density. One credit will be given for each new tree that has survived ...
India raised 1,78,261 hectares of compensatory afforestation against a target of 2,09,297 hectares between 2019-20 and 2023-24, achieving 85 per cent of the planned area, the Supreme Court-mandated Central Empowered Committee has said in a report. The report filed earlier this month revealed that utilisation of funds under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) varies sharply across states. According to the report, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh recorded full achievement of their targets. Madhya Pradesh planted 21,746.82 hectares, fully achieving its target of 21,107.68 hectares. Karnataka also met nearly its entire target, covering 2,761.26 hectares against 2,775.12 hectares. Arunachal Pradesh planted 20,719.46 hectares against 21,478.03 hectares, achieving 96.6 per cent. Uttar Pradesh reported 96.4 per cent achievement, planting 5,877.16 hectares against 6,096.7 hectares. Assam covered 1,149.64 hectares against 1,191.82 ...
Coal India-arm SECL is set to spend Rs 169 crore over the next five years on extensive plantation drives in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, an official statement said on Monday. In partnership with the Rajya Van Vikas Nigam, the South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) aims to plant over 26 lakh saplings in Chhattisgarh and 12 lakh in Madhya Pradesh between 2023-24 and 2027-28. The initiative also includes a four-year maintenance period for each year of plantation to ensure proper growth and survival of saplings, the coal ministry said in a statement. In alignment with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign, SECL has planted 1,46,675 saplings across its operational areas in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved the Clean Plant Programme (CPP) with an outlay of Rs 1,766 crore to revolutionize India's horticulture sector. The programme, proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, aims to enhance the quality and productivity of fruit crops across the nation. It was earlier announced in the Budget speech by finance minister in February 2023. Briefing the media after the meeting, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the CPP will address virus infections in horticultural crops, affecting both productivity and quality. Key components of the programme include: establishment of nine world-class Clean Plant Centres (CPCs) across India, equipped with advanced diagnostic therapeutics and tissue culture labs; and implementation of a robust certification system under the Seeds Act 1966. It also includes infrastructure support to large-scale nurseries for efficient multiplication of clean planting ...
Goa Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane on Friday said his department will register first information reports (FIRs) against persons violating the Preservation of Trees Act. People take permission from the deputy conservators of forest from the North and South Goa divisions to fell trees citing some requirements, but end up violating the Preservation of Trees Act, the minister told PTI. "Once they get permission, people go completely against the rules," he said. Rane said directions have been issued to the principal chief conservator of Forest to register FIRs against violators, and the department will come down heavily on them. Rane, who heads the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department, said action will be taken against people involved in illegal landfilling. Several cases of illegal landfilling have been brought to the government's notice, and the department is probing them, he said. The minister said that Bicholim MLA Chandrakant Shetye had recently filed a complaint against th
The Delhi government has set a target of planting 20 lakh flowering saplings in the national capital as part of its preparations for the G20 Summit slated to be held in September. Of these, the forest and wildlife department will plant 12 lakh saplings and other agencies the rest. A forest department official said flowering species such as jacaranda and palas will be planted in large numbers. The entire exercise will be completed by July end. Over 10 lakh exotic potted plants will also add to the beauty of the national capital as it gets ready to host the G20 Summit, officials said. The horticulture wings of the central and Delhi government departments, including the Delhi Development Department, New Delhi Municipal Council, Public Works Department and Municipal Corporation of Delhi, have been asked to decorate public spaces, roundabouts, major intersections, flyovers and vertical greens in the city with exotic flowering plants. Special attention will be given to the stretch betwe
To encourage tree plantation on farmland along with crops to help farmers get additional income, Bihar government in association with FSI has decided to conduct 'Trees Outside Forest' (TOF) field survey to identify the dominant tree species that are growing outside the recorded forest areas (RFA) in the state, an official said. As per the Forest Survey of India (FSI) India state of Forest Report, 2021, Bihar has registered an increase of 3.79 per cent in growing stock in RFA and 0.58 per cent in TOF respectively, the official said. "The overall tree cover has also increased in the state from 2,003 sq km in 2019 to 2,341 sq km in 2021. The FSI survey was conducted by using remote sensing based forest cover mapping of all patches of more than one hectare within and outside the RFA. Now, we want a comprehensive TOF survey based on field inspection", Ashutosh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, told PTI. He said, "Through this survey, we would be able to identify the dominant tree .
West Bengal Environment Minister Manas Bhunia said that air pollution in southern districts of the state was increasing due to stubble burning in neighbouring Jharkhand and Bihar. Addressing a press conference on Monday, he said the state government was planning to plant "tall trees" along the border to prevent smoke from stubble burning enter the state. Asked which species of trees will be planted and by when, Bhunia later told PTI, "We are discussing these with experts and it will be announced shortly." "We will hold a meeting to decide the mechanism," he added. West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) chairman Kalyan Rudra said a satellite-based mechanism to monitor the burning of stubble has been developed with assistance from IIT-Delhi. Bhunia also said sensors will be installed in state-run buses to measure air pollution on Kolkata roads Initially, the devices will be installed in buses of six-seven routes that crisscross the city, he said. "We will soon install sensors