Department of Forests in Ramanathapuram district is ready to distribute saplings of various trees free of cost to farmers with the aim of increasing the green cover in the district.
The saplings have been raised in different nurseries under Green Tamil Nadu Mission (GTM), Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Conservation and Greening Project for Climate Change Response – TBGPCCR and Degraded Forest Landscape Project Phase – I., said District Forest Officer, S. Hemalatha.
Out of the total number of saplings, 1,31,500 well-grown saplings would be planted in public places like schools, colleges and various organisations.
Saplings that are 8 feet to 10 feet tall would be planted on either side of the Madurai-Rameswaram National Highway (NH 85 and NH 87) under the project GTM – NHAI. The planted saplings would be maintained by the Forest Department for a period of two years.
Further, under the GTM – Rehabilitation of Coastal Habitats through the formation of BioShield project, about 3,000 ‘savukku,’ (casuarina or she-oak) saplings and one lakh palm seedlings are to be planted along the coastline to prevent untoward incidents by slowing down the force of sea water during windy conditions, said a press release of the district administration.
The selected 100 hectare of forest land in the district which was previously earmarked for forest activities would be made more dense by planting about 10,000 saplings in the area.
In addition to these activities, in selected 20 hectares of forest land where there was excess growth of seemai karuvelam, drive would be conducted to clear the invasive species and plant indigenous plant varieties suitable to the region.
To help farmers yield more revenue through trees, saplings of tree varieties like teak, mahogany were to be grown by the forest department through Agro Forestry- Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) project. The saplings grown would be distributed to the farmers through the agriculture department, the release added.
To implement the Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Conservation and Greening Project for Climate Change Response – TBGPCCR more effectively, farmlands in 10km area from urban and rural limit would be selected and sapling would be planted for free.
Interested people can reach through the contact numbers for free saplings: Atrangarai (Ramanthapuram) range - 9025952577, 7973808328, 7010867694; Atrangarai (R.S. Mangalam) range - 7418219215, 9791766010; Sayalkudi range - 8438771496, 9361574991; Kamudhakudi (Paramakudi) range - 9786456941, 9597384583 and Kamudhakudi (extension) range - 6383940433, 9976969370
Published - September 04, 2024 09:39 pm IST
