EU extends Rs 126 cr help for forestry project in Haryana

Chandigarh, Aug 20 (UNI) The European Union (EU) has extended financial assistance worth Rs 126 crore to the Haryana Community Forestry Project.

The EU extended the help after being impressed by Social Forestry Project and Aravali Project under which 32,732 hectares of land was brought under tree plantation, an official spokesman said.

Another project was being implemented for aforestation and poverty alleviation in 800 villages of Haryana with the Japan Bank International Cooperation (JBIC) assistance.

He said a financial assistance amounting Rs 286 crore from Japan would be spent by 2011 and 48,800 hectares of land would be brought under forest cover by this project.

He said the state government was committed to promote forestry through Haryana Community Forestry Project as it had constructed 19 earthen dams in the foothill villages of Panchkula and Yamunanagar districts.

The spokesman said the main purpose of constructing dams was to store access rainwater from forestry watersheds to be used for supplemental irrigation, in rain-fed command areas with gravity, using underground pipelines.

The user groups were organised as Village Resource Management Committees (VRMC) to manage and equitably store the water resource, he added.

UNI