Though Uttarakhand is a forest dominated region, the environment here is sustaining considerable damage. Tree plantation is necessary for environmental conservation and saving the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. The State Forest minister Dinesh Aggarwal said this on Sunday.
The minister planted seeds of Mahua at the Sardar Bhagwan Singh Post Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Research and planted a sapling at Bharuwala Grant as part of Harela commemoration in Dehradun on Sunday.
Aggarwal said that increase in the number of trees will not only make the environment cleaner but will also recharge water sources which in turn will conserve water and help in conservation of rivers.
He said, “It is with this aim that the Chief Minister has launched the Mera Pedh Mera Dhan (MPMD) scheme. As part of Harela commemoration, tree plantation programmes have been organised in all districts with provision for bonus of upto `400 per tree after three years of plantation. People are being encouraged to plant fruit and fodder trees under this scheme which will also prove helpful for mitigating migration from the mountains. The SBSPG institute is also contributing in the efforts and will prepare one lakh Mahua saplings in a year and provide these to the forest department,” he said.
The institute chairman SP Singh that the institute had sought 10 quintals of quality Mahua seeds from Madhya Pradesh. The saplings will be prepared this year and from next year the plantation of one lakh Mahua saplings per year will be started.