Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat along with the Forest and Wildlife minister Harak Singh Rawat inaugurated the city forest ‘Anand Van’ developed by forest department in Jhajhra forest range on the outskirts of Dehradun on Tuesday. Developed as a nature education centre, it provides detailed information about the flora and fauna of Uttarakhand. It will be opened to the public on the first day of Navratri this year.
The CM commended the department for developing Anand Van without tampering with nature and using only natural resources. The people should also get a glimpse of the state government’s vision of culture village here. The idea of providing at least a partial glimpse of Uttarakhand here should be considered, he added. Stating that the city forest will also be a tourist attraction, he directed the departmental officers to get a short film prepared on the city forest.
Forest and Wildlife minister Harak Singh Rawat said that this city forest is being handed over by the department as a heritage to the society. Theme-based city forests are also being developed in Haldwani and Rishikesh. The target given by the CM to the forest department of generating employment for 10,000 people will be met. Works costing Rs 400 crore will be undertaken this year under CAMPA, through which more than 10,000 people will be linked to employment, he added.
Principal chief conservator of forests, Jai Raj informed that it had taken three and a quarter years to develop this city forest at a cost of Rs 43 lakh. Sahaspur MLA Sahdev Pundeer also expressed his views on the occasion.