From August onwards Gujarat would pave the path for ‘Green Revolution’ by carrying out intensive tree plantation campaign on the banks of rivers, lakes and water bodies across the State, said Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday.

Dedicating ‘Rakshak Van’ – a protected forest in bordering Kutch district, Rupani initiated three day long 69th ‘Van Mahotsav’ — afforestation campaign Rupani said that in the month of May this year, people of Gujarat witnessed water resolution through deepening of lakes and water bodies as well as cleaning of rivers across the State. Now with massive tree plantations around these water bodies, the state would pave the path for Green Revolution during the month of August, he said. 

The Chief Minister said that as a result of “Sujalam Sufalam Jal Abhiyaan” (SSJA) the state has developed a capacity to store additional 11,000 lakh cubic feet rain waters by deepening lakes, check-dams and cleaning of rivers. 

On the auspicious occasion of “Guru Purneema”, the Chief Minister dedicated the “Sanskrutik Van” – cultural forest, which is the biggest with spread over 9.4 hectare of land. It has been named as “Rakshak Van” in memory of restoration of an air-strip of Bhuj Airport by the local women for protecting the mother land during the Indo-Pak war of 1971.

Rupani further asserted that Gujarat is leading with having 4.06 per cent green area other than forest a, which is 2.87 per cent in the country. The forest department has planted 34.35-crore trees by year-2017 in 18 cultural forests, other than forest areas.