Thaindian News

Shimla, Sep 6 (IANS) The ‘Queen of the Hills’, as this town was fondly called by the British, is going in for massive plantation of deodars to boost the depleting green cover here.
The government plans to plant around 4,000 saplings of deodar in the capital town by encouraging people to take to the drive.

“We have launched the revival of deodar afforestation project to maintain the glory of this historic town as the deodar forest town of India. Under this campaign, around 4,000 deodar saplings would be planted across the town,” Forest Minister J.P. Nadda told IANS.

He said saplings grown for 2-3 years in forest department nurseries would be planted with people’s participation.

The government has roped in NGOs and local people for carrying out the plantation drive.

“The aim of the deodar plantation drive is not only to make the hill state more green but is also an initiative to check depletion of the deodar cover that were planted by the British over a century ago,” the minister said.

Each sapling has been given a serial number and its growth would be monitored by the forest department, Nadda added.

The state government has already launched two plantation schemes - “Sanjha Van, Sanjeevni Van” and “Apna Van, Apna Dhan” - in the state under which over 10 million saplings of medicinal species would be planted around the year in all 12 districts of the state.

According to official records, 66 percent - 37,033 sq km of the total 55,643 sq km - of the Himalayan state is under forest cover.

The hill state is most vulnerable to climate change as the Himalayan glaciers have been retreating due to global warming.

The lush green valleys and snow-capped mountains of the state are home to 36 percent of the country’s species of birds. Of the 1,228 species that have been reported in India, 447 have been recorded in this state alone.

Similarly, 77 species of mammals have been recorded by the Himachal State Council for Science, Technology and Environment in its biodiversity report.