In a first, forest dept to conduct plantation drive along e-way in U.P.

According to the government’s communique, UPEIDA will pay a total of ₹183 crore to the forest department. The cost will cover the expense of looking after the planted saplings for the next ten years.

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh forest department will conduct a plantation drive on both sides of the Ganga Expressway. In a press release issued by the state government on Wednesday, the proposed drive has been hailed as the first-of-its-kind move by the forest department of any state in the country.

As part of the drive, 18 lakh saplings would be planted along 600 kilometres of the Ganga Expressway. (HT Photo)

As part of the drive, 18 lakh saplings would be planted along 600 kilometres of the Ganga Expressway, which connects Meerut with Prayagraj via Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, and Pratapgarh.

On Wednesday, a meeting between the state forest department and the officials of Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) was held to discuss the drive. HoD forest Mamta Sanjeev Dubey and other forest officials were present at the meeting.

According to the government’s communique, UPEIDA will pay a total of ₹183 crore to the forest department. The cost will cover the expense of looking after the planted saplings for the next ten years. “Taking care of saplings for ten years will ensure that they grow big enough to sustain,” said a senior forest official.

Meanwhile, the forest department will develop high-tech bursaries for this plantation drive.