Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology, Choudhary Lal Singh today said that the forest department will undertake massive plantation drive along Niki Tawi in Phallian Mandal area to check the land erosion and enhancing the green cover.The Minister said this while addressing a large gathering of people at a function organized by Tawi Welfare Society at Phallian Mandal near here today.Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, A K Singh, Chairman, J&K State Pollution Control Board, Ravi Kesar, Director Social Forestry, Arun Kumar Tikoo, Director Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing, O. P. Sharma, Chief Conservator of Forests, Roshan Jaggi, Managing Director, State Forest Corporation, S K Gupta, Director SFRI, B. M. Sharma, besides Divisional Forest Officers of Territorial, Wildlife and Social Forestry were present on the occasion.The Minister directed the officers to start massive plantation drive in the area and set a target for the same.
He asked them to put in their best efforts and mobilize the available resources to accomplish the task in the area. He called for paying focused attention towards the degraded areas where the threat of flash floods looms large during the rainy season. The entire stretch of Niki Tawi is a flood prone and needs massive green cover to curb the catastrophe. He directed the senior officers to personally monitor the progress of the plantation.The Minister urged for larger participation of local populace in the plantation drive to ensure its success. He also stressed the need for spreading greater awareness about plantation for maintaining the ecological balance. He called upon the NGOs, educational institutions, social and religious organizations to play their role in this noble cause and save the earth from further damage.Earlier, the Minister also distributed free ration among the poor beneficiaries of the area.