Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday said that Gujarat’s forest cover increased from 11,907 sq km in 1991 to 11,757 sq km in 2017, including 97 9700 hectare during the last two years.

With 34.35-crore trees, the State has 20.38 trees per hectare or 5.6 trees per person - almost double of the national average. In an interactive session with 18-lakh citizens across the state through Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG) Satcom to mark the International Forest Day, he said there is need to launch a massive forestation drive in urban areas to build eco-friendly sustainable cities with people's participation, best instilled since childhood itself. Trees are like lungs of the society, working like are air filters.

International Forest Day is celebrated under the charter of UNO, this year's theme being 'Forests and Sustainable Cities'. He said there is need to launch development with green cover to plant trees in wastelands under Nagar Nandanvan Yojna, keeping aside 5 (five) per cent of Town Planning (TP) Schemes for trees. He said Gujarat's green cover in non-forest areas is 4.09 per cent, as against the national average of 2.85 per cent.

Rupani also called for taking up another people's campaign for cleansing our rivers, planting trees along the riverbanks to check wastes flowing into the rivers.

He released on the occasion the 4thReport on Trees Census Outside Forest Area and also Coastal Flora of Gulf of Kutch Guide of Geer Foundation.