The State government has prepared a comprehensive action plan for all 1,769 forest blocks with appropriate forestry interventions in line with the Jungle Bachao – Jungle Badhao programme.
The Forest Rejuvenation Action plan, prepared after extensive capacity building and field exercise by officials concerned, came up for discussion during the 8th steering committee meeting of the Telangana Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) chaired by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumer here on Tuesday. The meeting reviewed the progress achieved under different components of compensatory afforestation in the State for approving the action plan for 2022-23.
The Chief Secretary said the State was leading in the country on effective utilisation of CAMPA funds. Forest cover in the State had not only increased since 2015, but there was increase in bio-diversity, increase in water availability in forest areas and in carbon stocks as per ISFR reports.
Telangana was the only State in the country that had increased forest cover across all canopy-density forest areas due to comprehensive forestry interventions in forest areas. There was need for taking up massive plantation drives in urban forests, more particularly in the districts surrounding the State capital.
Mr. Somesh Kumar directed the Forest department officials to set up state-of-the-art nurseries in five different locations which would have a major impact. In addition, action plan should be formulated and a concerted effort should be made over the next couple of years in the districts with low afforestation so as to increase the forest cover in these districts substantially.
The meeting also approved the annual plan of operations for Biodiversity Conservation Society of Telangana for the next financial year.
