With 11-cr ready saplings, state targets 4-cr plantations this year

The state forest department has doubled its efforts from last year with 11 crore saplings in inventories in various nurseries across Maharashtra, ready to be planted, officials told HT.

Last year, the target was to plant two crore saplings. While a four-crore target has been set for 2017 (for forest and non-forest areas), the 50-crore projection stands till the end of 2019. The plantation drive will be carried out across the state between July 1 and 7, which happens to be the week of Van Mahotsav, an annual week-long tree planting festival celebrated across the country.

Over the next two weeks, the forest department will earmark areas across the state for plantation. “This year, the focus will be on cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Nashik to establish cover and infrastructure projects,” said a senior official from the forest department.

Of the 307 lakh hectares of total area in the state, 61.35 lakh hectares, comprises forests. The department intends to increase

by planting 400 crore trees.

The officer added that this year’s drive focuses on clean air, water and an aesthetically attractive ambience. Saplings will be planted in and around schools hospitals municipal

government buildings across the state. According to the forest department, there was a 85% survival rate for the 2.14 crore saplings, which were planted across the state, last year. These plants were monitored last November conducted in May.

“We have already received applications for four crore plantations in Maharashtra,” said P Srivastava, additional principal chief conservator of forest, Information and Technology division

was being prepared for the drive.

“Last year, there were issues with people asking us to upload information about their plantations on our website. With our new website this year, we will provide a platform for all planta

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation has completed the Joint Measure ment Survey (JMS) of Shahpur Taluka in Thane district for the proposed Mumbai-nagpur expressway. The government will now start the process of acquiring the land from the farm ers, either by direct land pur chase or by land-pooling.

Chief Minister Devendra Fad navis had announced the 701-km Mumbai Nagpur Super Commu nications Expressway last year The expressway will connect ten districts, 22 talukas and 385 villa ges across Maharashtra. An 80km stretch of the expressway will pass through Thane district of which, 10km will be con structed in Bhiwandi, 10km in Kalyan and the remaining 65km in Shahpur. Seven villages from Bhiwandi, 11 from Kalyan and 28 villages from Shahpur will be affected by the construction of the expressway.

An MSRDC official requesting anonymity said, “The JMS for the entire 54km stretch of the expressway has been completed In Shahapur taluka, 571 hectares of land comes under this road, of which 200 hectares is forest land while the remaining 371 hectares is owned by private parties.”

Of the 371 hectares of land owned by individuals, the state government has received con sent for 161 hectares, while the process to get consent from the owners of the remaining 210 hec tares is still on, he said.

Santosh Thethe, sub divisiona officer of Bhiwandi, said, “We have completed the survey of the 28 villages of Shahpur in 15 days We will be undertaking the sur vey of four villages in Bhiwandi next Around 3km of the road wil