The Faridkot administration of Punjab has started a campaign to grow 50 community forests in the district with participation of farmers and village panchayats to increase its green cover.
The community forests, which are being called 'mini jungles', will also be set up on government lands depending upon the availability of space, said an official.
The initiative has been dedicated to the 50 years of Faridkot as a district, completing next month. Faridkot, which was named after Sufi saint Baba Farid, was created as a district on August 7, 1972.
“The district administration of Faridkot has started a campaign in collaboration with Roundglass Foundation under which we are setting up 50 community forests at various places in the district,” said Faridkot Deputy Commissioner Ruhee Dugg.
Advertisement
Under the campaign, the administration has decided to grow plants for fruits such as guava, mango, kinnow, jamun, mulberry, banana, and tree species including neem, banyan, peepal, amaltas, kikar, besides shrubs, flowers, and ornamental plants.
The government has planned to distribute 1.50 lakh saplings for these forests.
“Mini jungles will be set up on government and panchayati lands as per availability of land. It may be one kanal (about 500 square yards), two kanals or one acre,” said Dr Amandeep Keshav, project director, Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA), Faridkot.
Keshav said 39 sites have already been identified for community forests. The administration has already set up a community forest at Baba Farid Sabhyacharak centre in Faridkot.
Advertisement
Keshav said a community forest will be set up on the land available at the office of sub-divisional magistrate (Jaito).
Farmers also are coming forward for setting up of community forests on their lands, Keshav told PTI. Gurshivender Singh, 'Sarpanch' (village head) of Machachi Kalan has set up a 'mini jungle' over four kanals of his land.
Another such mini-jungle has been set up over two acres of Panchayati land in Mehmuana village. A farmer has set up a community forest over half an acre of land in Aulakh village in Kotkapura block.
Mumara village farmer Sukhpreet Singh, whose cousin has set up a community forest over six kanals of land, said, “Many people are showing interest in planting saplings over their lands in Faridkot.”
According to India State of Forest Report-2021, Punjab's forest cover went down by two square kilometres to 1,847 sq kms in 2021 from what it was in 2019.
Punjab's forest cover is just 3.67 per cent (1,847 sq kms) of 50,362 sq kms of its geographical area, as against 21.71 percent of 32,87,469 sq km of India, according to the report released early this year.
Punjab's area under 'very dense forest' category stands at 10.58 sq kms, while its area under 'moderately dense forest' is 793.11 sq kms and 'open forest' is 1,042.96 sq kms.
