Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 30 Jun: A high-level meeting was chaired by District Magistrate (DM) Dr Ashish Chauhan to discuss the plantation drive during the upcoming Harela festival. Harela, the folk festival symbolising Uttarakhand’s glorious culture and its deep bond with nature, is set to be celebrated in a historic manner this year.
To mark the Silver Jubilee, the 25th year of the State, the festival beginning on 16 July will be observed for a full month in a special and memorable way. This year, Dehradun district has resolved to give a new push to eco-tourism by planting special species of saplings through thematic, subject-based plantation drives. It has been decided to plant more than 15.5 lakh saplings during the month-long festival in the district.
An important meeting on the grand preparations for Harela was held at the Collectorate auditorium today under the chairmanship of District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan. The District Magistrate made it clear that this year’s mega campaign would not be a mere ritual, but would be taken forward as a mass movement to make the earth greener.
The DM directed all the government departments concerned to immediately identify their plantation sites. He added that to make the campaign transparent and successful, a nodal officer will be appointed in each department, who will prepare an action plan under micro-level management. Along with the general public, the participation of public representatives, youth, women’s groups and local residents will be ensured in this mega campaign. Besides, reputed national institutions such as the IMA, Survey of India, ONGC and ITBP will also be associated with the campaign so that quality forests can be developed in the district in accordance with the soil conditions of specific areas.
In addition, a special Green Control Room will also be set up to ensure that the success of the campaign is not limited to plantation alone. This control room will carry out regular and strict monitoring of the month-long plantation drive and keep a close watch on its progress.
The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) informed the meeting that a massive target of planting 15.50 lakh saplings has been fixed in the district this year. A significant aspect of the drive is that 50 per cent of the saplings to be planted will be of fruit-bearing and fodder species. These saplings will not only be planted, but full responsibility will also be fixed for their maintenance and protection for the next five years.
All the line departments have been directed to complete arrangements for digging pits, providing organic manure, tree guards and transportation of saplings by 10 July. Saplings will be made available to all the departments through the four forest divisions of Mussoorie, Kalsi, Chakrata and Dehradun.
Among those present at the high-level meeting were Chief Development Officer (CDO) Abhinav Shah, Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) Neeraj Kumar Sharma, Vaibhav Singh and Mayank Kumar, SDO Abhishek Maithani and senior officers of the agriculture, horticulture, industries, education, sports, drinking water and roads departments.
