Maharashtra: Tree plantation drive exceeds 4 crore target

As many as 4,61,06,563 saplings were planted in the non-forested areas across the state.

Nagpur, July 7: The Maharashtra forest department and other agencies have planted over 4.60 crore saplings across the state, exceeding the target of planting four crore trees till today, a senior official said.

As many as 4,61,06,563 saplings were planted in the non-forested areas across the state's 36 districts till 6 pm on Thursday, against the target of four crore trees during the seven-day drive which began on July 1, additional principal chief conservator of forests (IT & Policy) Praveen Shrivastav said.

With one more day to go for the drive today, the number of saplings planted will further increase, he said. The mission of the plantation drive is digital forest governance to ensure transparency, credibility and accountability, he said.

The drive will conclude on Friday and the plantation is expected to cross 5.50 crore saplings. Of the over 4.64 crore saplings planted, forest department (territorial) took the lead by planting maximum 2.40 crore saplings, followed by 51.43 lakh by FDCM, 32.83 lakh by social forestry department (SFD), and 2.33 lakh by the wildlife wing.

A district-wise review of the official plantation website of the forest department showed forest minister's district Chandrapur topped the chart with 39.32 lakh saplings, followed by Ahmednagar 26.22 lakh and Gadchiroli 23.54 lakh. These included plantations on both forest and non-forest lands.

PTI