300cr tree plantation drive will make Maharashtra greener: Naik

Nagpur: State forest minister Ganesh Naik on Thursday said the statewide 300 crore tree plantation campaign envisioned by CM Devendra Fadnavis would make Maharashtra greener and environmentally more resilient. He was speaking at an event at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Borivali on the occasion of World Environment Day.Naik said large-scale plantation of fruit-bearing trees such as jamun, guava and jackfruit would be taken up inside SGNP to ensure wildlife gets sufficient food within forest boundaries. Naik said, "This will reduce incidents of wildlife venturing outside forests in search of food." Priority was also being given to improving road connectivity to hilly settlements and hamlets while creating sacred groves and green forest zones, he added.Naik said one lakh saplings would be made available for Mumbai through the social forestry department as per the request of Mumbai mayor Ritu Tawde. He said efforts were being made to provide modern facilities and equipment to forest personnel, and proposals were under consideration to raise funds for the forest department through bonds. Five tissue culture centres have been established across different divisions of the state to produce quality saplings on a large scale.During the event, Naik laid the foundation stone for the Central Govt Employees Residential Complex and inaugurated a special awareness vehicle for environmental outreach. Forest personnel were also provided with self-protection kits for working in forest areas.Naik stressed the importance of promoting solar and wind power as alternatives to conventional fuels and said Maharashtra was progressing while maintaining a balance between development and environmental conservation.Chief conservator of forests Jitendra Ramgavkar said the 300 crore tree plantation campaign aimed to increase Maharashtra's forest cover to 33%. Chief conservator of forests K. Pradeepa said the state's tissue culture centres had set a target of producing 15 million saplings. SGNP director Anita Patil said a Miyawaki forest was being created across 34 hectares and world-class facilities were being developed at the park.Legislators Pravin Darekar, Sanjay Upadhyay, Prakash Surve and Manisha Chaudhary were present.