In a bid to enhance the forest cover in the State, Odisha Government has decided to implement an ‘Ama Jungle Yojana’ (AJY) in a big way, official sources said.
The AJY (my forest project) focuses on forest restoration, promotion of sustainable management of forests by strengthening participatory forest management and improvement of livelihoods of forest dependent communities. The scheme would be implemented over a period of eight years in three phases and cover 5,000 Vana Suraksha Samitis (VSSs), Forest and Environment Department sources said.
The Government would take 1,000 VSSs in the first phase, 2,000 in the second phase and another 2,000 in the third. Besides, forest restoration would be undertaken through Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) over an area of 5 lakh hectares at an average of 50 hectare per VSS.
The scheme would include activities like ground survey, demarcation and mapping, micro plan preparation, capacity building, construction of community buildings, livelihood support, forest restoration support and NGO support. The sources said the cost of the scheme is estimated at Rs517.125 crore. Out of this, Rs424.625 crore will be sourced from the CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority), Rs50 crore from the State Plan Scheme’s Community Forest Protection and Management and Rs42.50 crore from the NRlM (National Rural livelihood Mission), a scheme under the Panchayati Raj Department.
The livelihood support component would be funded by the NRlM through Income Generation Activities (IGA) by Self-Help Groups (SHGs) while the expenses towards the establishment cost of the dedicated Community Forest Protection and Management Programme (CFPMP) Cell, salary of staff of the CFPMP Cell, funding of smokeless Chula, NGO support and managerial expenses will be funded from the State Plan.
Activities like ground survey, demarcation and mapping, micro plan preparation, capacity building and forest restoration would be funded through the CAMPA. The scheme would be executed in project mode through the Odisha Forestry Sector Development Society (OFSDS).