Capt Amarinder to inaugurate Van Mahotsav

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh would inaugurate 69th State-level Van Mahotsav by planting a sapling at Nabha on July 28, Saturday.

Disclosing, the state Forests Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot on Thursday said that the sole motive of organizing Van Mahotsav is to motivate people towards maximum plantation of saplings.

 “Punjab Government has chalked out a detailed plan to cover 10,000 acres land by planting saplings in the current year under ‘Ghar Ghar Haryali’ campaign. More than 15 lakh saplings have been planted till date by the government, non government organizations, farmers and residents of Punjab at different places,” he said.

The Minister, giving details of activities being run by Forest Department under ‘Mission Tandarust Punjab’, said that the Department had decided to identify the slum and backward areas for enhancing its green cover.

“Under this initiative, a special drive would be started for planting 50,000 saplings in these particular areas,” he said.

The Minister added that around 2.70 lakh residents of Punjab had download ‘i-Haryali’ app in their android phones and eight lakh saplings had been provided till date through this app. An ‘iOS App’ for the people having i-phones would also be launched soon so that they could also book the saplings of their choice by downloading i-haryali app, he added.

Expressing satisfaction over the report of Forest Survey of India-2017, the Minister said that this report had registered an increase of 35,583 acres of tree cover in forests.

Punjab Forest Department would also start a mass movement to motivate people for planting of saplings through awareness camps, which would be organized across the state besides urging the social, religious, eco and youth clubs and other government organizations to come forward for this noble cause, he said.