Punjab government to plant 2 crore saplings

Chandigarh, July 21 (PTI): The Punjab government has set a target of planting two crore saplings across the state in this year. Forest Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot today called a high-level meeting here of official from his department and said the state government is planning to acquire land alongside roads and to plant saplings on it. "Two crore saplings will be planted across the state this year under green mission," he said. He said that after the plantation, the maintenance the saplings would be handed over to concerned panchayats and schools. Dharamsot said the department is also contemplating to use open stretches of land in Abhohar and Fazilka for this purpose, an official spokesman said. Emphasising on the need of developing "forest tourism" in the state, the minister said that a park has been set up at Nabha area in Patiala district, similarly land stretches have already been identified at Balachaur in Hoshiarpur district to set up parks. Direction to all the nurseries in the state have been issued to ensure that the height of the planted sapling is 4-5 feet, he said. The state government has launched a plantation campaign in over 8,000 hectares of land in the 2017-18 period. The minister said a nature park would be set up at Mattewada in Ludhiana to sensitise the public about the advantages of forests, wildlife and environment.