Deputy Commissioner (DC) Reasi Charandeep Singh today chaired a meeting of district officers and DFOs to review progress under plantation of trees and other aforestation related activities.The meeting was attended by ADC Abdul Satar; ACD Dr Anirudh Rai; ACR Sanjay Kumar Badayal; DFO Reasi Jyotsana; DFO Mahore Mohinder Singh; DFO Social Forestry, Range Officers and other district officers.The meeting was informed that 40,000 trees have been planted in Reasi division during this monsoon season in schools, health institutions, playgrounds and other fenced places. Similarly, DFO Mahore informed that 17 Panchayats have been covered under plantation in the area.The DC instructed DFOs to take assistance from Village Plantation Committees constituted by the social forestry in nurturing and safeguarding planted trees as merely planting will not meet the purpose of aforestation unless they are not saved.The DC said thousands of trees are planted every year at different locations but a smaller number of such trees survive to the final stage due to lack of their care and protection. In this regard, he emphasized upon DFOs to involve local communities, youth groups, PRI members, women folks and teachers’ associations.
Meanwhile, he also instructed DFO Mahore to cover maximum locations in the upper reaches by involving all officials and local people besides giving wide publicity to this campaign through media and social platforms.The Deputy Commissioner further asked the DFOs to identify the locations and submit detailed vetted plan in convergence with MGNREGA covering components like creation of fire lanes, maintenance of water harvesting structure, bridle paths, desilting of water bodies, plantation works, trek routes and lantana clearance etc.Threadbare discussion was also held on various other issues like timber supply, monkey menace, minor forest produce and other related issues of forest. DC stressed upon DFOs to keep liaison with RDD, revenue and police departments so that confronting issues of forest are resolved at their ends.Instructions were also passed to the officers for disposing of all cases of Forest Rights claims pending at different levels. The DC instructed the ACD to fix a date for holding Gram Sabha in the Panchayats so that FRA claims are processed and disposed of in time.