The Punjab government will convert 10 per cent forest land into fruit orchards under Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Hariyali Lehar launched by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Stating this, Horticulture Minister Fauja Singh Sarari said that he has directed officials to plant maximum saplings in government lands which are getting free from encroachments under the anti-encroachment drive launched by the Punjab Government.“
The planting of fruit trees will not only help in increasing the green cover in the state but will also ensure nutritional security to the people besides enhancing a bee flora area in the state,” he said.
Horticulture Minister Fauja Singh said that, currently, beekeepers have to look to other states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan in search of bee flora. “Once we will establish bee-flora across the state, beekeepers won’t need to even move from their city,” he said, while adding that at present there are over four lakh colonies of bees in the state.
He said that where trees like Mango, Ber, Mulberry, Amla, Karonda, Bel, Dheu and Jamun will ensure nutritional security, on the other hand, other varieties of trees including Jacaranda, Amaltas, Curry Patta, Siris, Shisham, Lagerstromia, Neem, Arjun, Cassia and Sohanjana will help in enhancing the bee flora.
These plants will also help in recharging the ground water and diversification, he added.The minister directed the officials of different departments including Horticulture, Forest, Drains, Canals and Panchayati Raj to work in tandem to turn this holistic model into a reality.Meanwhile, Director Horticulture Shailender Kaur, Chief Conservator Forests NS Randhawa, Chief Engineer Drains Devinder Singh and Chief Engineer Canals ID Goel attended the meeting.