27 hectares of forest area cleared of apple plantations in HP

Shimla, June 15 (UNI) About 27 hectares of forest area in Bholar and Balli villages of Himachal Pradesh have been cleared of apple plantations, as part of the state forest department's drive to clear all encroachments in forest area.

A team of 40 forest officials cleared the plantations in Jubbal forest range of Shimla district under the supervision of Assistant Conservator of Forests Rakesh Sharma, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Rajesh Kumar said here.

Mr Kumar said the area was cleared of encroachments after an initial survey by the department identified 800 apple plantations as encroachments on un-demarcated forest area in the block.

All forest area in the district would be cleared of such encroachments, he added.

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