Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government
has chalked out an ambitious programme to grow herbs and
medicinal plants on barren land to increase the green cover of
the state, official sources said Sunday.
HP being a home of herbs, would encourage the people
to grow medicinal plants on barren land which required less
water, an official spokesman said.
The state has 7.23 per cent of the country`s
bio-diversity, which if harnessed scientifically would
generate additional income for farmers, the spokesman said.
The state government has already constituted a
separate Herbal Medicine Plant board to carry forward "mission
herbiculture" where 67 medicinal plants varieties had been
identified for commercial cultivation, he said.
The mission envisaged joint campaign by Forest,
Horticulture and Ayurveda departments to encourage the farmers
to grow herbs on their lands, he added.
PTI
