Minister for Forests, Environment, Law and Endowments A.Indra Karan Reddy inaugurated the two-day Workshop of Forest Officers at Forest Academy, Dulapally today. The Minister expressed happiness at the extended monsoon rains that really helped in the establishment of plantations. He appreciated the tradition of holding such a workshop once in six-months so that officers can discuss various issues and together come up with practical solutions.
He mentioned that the support of CM KCR for the Forest department is unprecedented. The CM recently formed a five-minister committee to look in to ways by which green cover/forest protection etc. in the state could be improved. The committee would be meeting very soon and chalk out a road map.
The Minister released the annual plan of operations for 2019-20 under CAMPA and said that approval is given for Rs.501.26 crore which is the largest in over the last ten years. He called upon the officers to utilize the fund effectively in view of the recent recruitment of over 67 Forest Range Officers, 90 section officers and 1857 Beat Officers and with a total strength of nearly 7,000 manpower. Budget for other important items of works would also be presented to the finance department again, he said.
He exhorted the officers to keep the goal as achieving 33% of green cover in the state. Responsibility of the forest officers is not only to raise good quality seedlings but covers the protection and survival of plants in an integrated manner. Three crores of Tall seedlings to be raised and plan for raising 100 crore seedlings for the coming year.
Hon’ble Minister emphasized that forest protection should receive highest attention. Additional resources like the use of Drones, CC cameras, etc would be provided. Boundary trench work would be continued to permanently mark forest boundaries and more than 2000 vehicles are sanctioned for the department for effective protection. PD Act would be used wherever required to curb smuggling of forest produce.
The Special Chief Secretary Environment, Forest, Science & Technology Sri. Rajeshwar Tiwari highlighted that the government would provide all the support to the department. He mentioned that the role being played by the department is not just for the present but for the future of human existence. He recalled the campaign being run by Greta Thunberg for saving the planet Earth for future generations. He assured that reconciliation of forest lands and their recording in revenue records would be given top priority.
