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Govt relaxes felling and transit rules for forest produce
New Delhi, Oct 23: In a bid to encourage planting of trees, government has relaxed the felling and transit rules for forest produce derived from non-forest and private lands.
New Delhi, Oct 23: In a bid to encourage planting of trees, government has relaxed the felling and transit rules for forest produce derived from non-forest and private lands.
The decision was taken at the national afforestation and eco-development board meeting held here yesterday under the chairmanship of Environment Minister T R Baalu.
The meeting, which was held after a gap of three years, would now ask state governments to relax the rules because these were found to be detering people from growing certain variety of trees in their own land. The move is expected to help achieve the targeted 25 per cent increase in forest and tree cover by 2007 and 33 per cent by 2012.
Stressing the need for evolving a strategy for effective coordination and synergy in the endeavours of people, NGOs, government, voluntary agencies and industries, Baalu said emphasis was on encouraging local species of trees, promoting medicinal plants and bamboo in all schemes and programmes.
Lauding the achievements of the national afforestation programme in the 10th plan period being implemented by a de-centralised system of Forest Development Agency (FDA) at the forest division level, the board suggested that the FDA coverage be enhanced. In the last three years NAEB supported 381 such agencies across the country except in Goa, Meghalaya and Delhi where the state governments are yet to formalise the peoples' participation in forest management.
Bureau Report
The meeting, which was held after a gap of three years, would now ask state governments to relax the rules because these were found to be detering people from growing certain variety of trees in their own land. The move is expected to help achieve the targeted 25 per cent increase in forest and tree cover by 2007 and 33 per cent by 2012.
Stressing the need for evolving a strategy for effective coordination and synergy in the endeavours of people, NGOs, government, voluntary agencies and industries, Baalu said emphasis was on encouraging local species of trees, promoting medicinal plants and bamboo in all schemes and programmes.
Lauding the achievements of the national afforestation programme in the 10th plan period being implemented by a de-centralised system of Forest Development Agency (FDA) at the forest division level, the board suggested that the FDA coverage be enhanced. In the last three years NAEB supported 381 such agencies across the country except in Goa, Meghalaya and Delhi where the state governments are yet to formalise the peoples' participation in forest management.
Bureau Report