Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday called upon people to usher in an ‘Evergreen Revolution’ by planting more trees to make the country clean, green and pollution free.
Badal said that the people should start a campaign to plant at least one tree in their homes every time there is a birth of a child.
Badal, addressing delegates at a national stakeholders’ meet on ‘Trees outside forests and wood-based enterprise’ at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun, said that planting trees should become a mass movement to protect environment and maintain ecological balance.
Badal said that the Punjab Government was determined to enhance the area under agro-forestry from existing 6.3 to 15 per cent in coming years. Active support of the FRI has been sought for this, he said.
He said that planting of trees could be the second ‘Green Revolution’ and farmers could benefit from the concept of the agro-forestry.
“The upcoming mini FRI at ladowal in ludhiana district is a right step in this direction, which would be instrumental in bringing ‘second green revolution’ or precisely ‘evergreen revolution’ by promoting the concept of agro-forestry in a big way….I invite all of you to hold the next FRI meet at mini FRI, as it would give a boost to the agro-forestry in the State” he added.
Chief Minister said that agro-farm forestry was the need of the hour especially at this critical juncture when Punjab’s traditional agriculture has already reached a point of saturation.
“The State Government has initiated many bold steps for the promotion of agro-forestry by launching ‘Greening Punjab Mission’, establishing wood mandis and clonal nurseries to provide quality and disease resistant saplings to the farmers,” he said.
Badal envisaged support and guidance from FRI and Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to encourage agro-farm forestry on a mass scale especially in the water logged areas of south west Punjab.
The Chief Minister impressed upon the leading industrial houses which were in the business of paper and pulp to come forward for extending the much needed marketing support by way of minimum support price to the farmers for their produce in the open markets.
He also called upon such industrialists to help both the State Governments as well as the farmers in assuring best prices of their harvest through value addition.