The State Forest Minister and Minister in charge of Champawat district, Dinesh Aggarwal has expressed concern over slow progress on the projects as announced by the Chief Minister for the region. Reviewing the progress of various schemes announced by the Chief Minister at a meeting with the forest officials of the Kumaon division in Champawat late Wednesday evening, the Minister said that despite allocation of adequate funds for implementation of different schemes like fodder development, water conservation, crop protection wall, to name a few, things are going on at a snail’s pace.
He asked the forest officials to ensure proper utilisation of the funds meant for developmental programmes. At the same time, he emphasised on the need to promote eco-tourism in the region. He asked the officials to identify important tourist destinations and submit a list of the same to the Government so that necessary steps could be taken to promote eco-tourism. He also called for conservation of flora, directing the officials to popularise Chief Minister’s ‘Our Tree, Our Money’ programme among the farmers.