Industry Odisha Bureau, Aug 6: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has provided funds to the tune of Rs 113.26 crore to Odisha over the last five years under different schemes for afforestation, forest conservation and protection of jungles.
This was informed by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh today in Parliament.
The Central Government provides financial assistance to the States/Union Territories for afforestation, forest conservation and protection under various schemes, including the Green India Mission (GIM), Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH), Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FFPM) Scheme, Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) and Nagar Van Yojana, Singh said.
During the last five financial years, the Ministry released Rs 38.81 crore under the Green India Mission, Rs 38.66 crore under the Development of Wildlife Habitats Scheme, Rs 16.38 crore under the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme, Rs 0.70 crore under MISHTI, and Rs 18.71 crore under the Nagar Van Yojana to Odisha, he said.
The major activities undertaken under these programmes and schemes include afforestation, wildlife habitat improvement, forest fire prevention and management, mangrove plantation, development of urban forests, soil and moisture conservation and eco-development, Singh pointed out.
Further, he noted, the nationwide plantation campaign “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (#Plant4Mother)” is implemented across the country, including in the State of Odisha, for undertaking plantation activities.
As a result of these activities and measures taken by the State Government under its own schemes, the forest cover of Odisha increased by 151.89 square kilometers in ISFR 2023 compared to ISFR 2021, the Union Minister stated.
The Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, carries out the assessment of forest and tree cover of the country biennially and publishes the findings in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR).
The assessment of forest cover is a wall-to-wall mapping exercise based on remote sensing, supported by intensive ground verification and field data from the National Forest Inventory. As per the ISFR 2023, the total forest cover in the State of Odisha is 52,433.56 square kilometer.
