Funds crunch hits expansion of green cover in Mysuru, Chamarajanagar districts

MYSURU: The implementation of Aranya Krishi Protsaha Yojana (AKPY) has been affected in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar over the last one year due to a cut in government grants for the project.
Under this scheme, which aims to expand the green cover in rural areas, the state forest department offers incentives to farmers for growing trees. The forest department raises saplings of multiple varieties -- including teak wood, gooseberry, neem, teak and mahogany - and distributes them to farmers.
This 3-year programme aims to provide 400 saplings to farmers at subsidised rates to cover a maximum of one hectare of land. Farmers are rewarded Rs 10, Rs 15, and Rs 20 for each surviving sapling at the end of the first, second and third year, respectively.
However, now, the cut in grants has affected the expansion of the green cover.
"I have grown more than 650 mahogany trees after receiving seedlings from the forest department, but I did not receive any incentive for the first and second years," Agara Ravi of Yelandur taluk of Chamarajanagar district said.
Dr M Krisnnaraju, the deputy secretary of Mysuru zilla parishat, said that the zilla parishat was making every effort to promote social forestry, along with the forest department, by sharing the funds that are available.
Aranya Krishi Protsaha Yojana
The initiative, included under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), is implemented by the forest department, in collaboration with the rural and panchayat raj departments. This scheme also seeks to reach out to educational institutions in an attempt to increase the green cover.