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Ensure active participation of locals in important works: HP forest minister to officials
This was his first visit to the project headquarters after assuming charge of state forest ministry.
Himachal Pradesh forest minister Rakesh Pathania on Friday directed officials to ensure active participation of locals in important and ambitious works including forest ecosystem management and livelihood improvement.
During a discussion at the headquarters of the “Project for Improvement of Himachal Pradesh Forest Ecosystems Management and Livelihoods” at Potters Hill here, Pathania said equal and active participation of women is a must while moving forward towards increasing green cover and sustainable development of the state.
This was his first visit to the project headquarters after assuming charge of state forest ministry. The Rs 800-crore project has been funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). It is being implemented as part of Indo-Japan cooperation.
Appreciating the efforts of the project management, Pathania said he will also visit the project areas to take stock of activities. He exhorted the staff to accelerate pace of project implementation and said the target was to increase the green cover of the state from the current 27.2% to 30% by 2030. He added that the project will contribute significantly in achieving this goal.
He said 61 nurseries of the forest department had been strengthened with the support of this project. “Due to this, the capacity of nurseries had increased by 3.5 million plants,” he added.
Pathania said saplings will be planted on 1,631 hectares of land during current financial year. He said to improve livelihood of forest dependent communities, they will be allowed to cultivate medicinal and aromatic plants on forest land in addition to private land.
Turning to the goals and objectives of the project, Pathania said the emphasis will be on sustainable forest ecosystem management and augmentation, biodiversity conservation, livelihood improvement support and institutional capacity building and strengthening.
He said the project will prove to be a milestone in the direction of social and economic development and environmental conservation with active participation of locals.