Initiative will be launched for increasing green cover in Kalyana Karnataka, says Khandre

State government to launch tree-planting initiative in Kalyana Karnataka to increase forest cover, with geo-tagged saplings and long-term plan.

Taking note of forest cover falling below 10% in several districts of Kalyana Karnataka, the State government will launch a large-scale tree-planting initiative on June 1, Forest, Zoology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre has said.

Speaking to the media at the Aiwan-e-Shahi Guest House in Kalaburagi on Saturday, Mr. Khandre highlighted that districts such as Kalaburagi (5%), Ballari (7%), Yadgir and Raichur (3% each) have alarmingly low forest coverage.

“As a first step towards ecological restoration, we have planned to plant one lakh saplings along roadsides in these four districts starting June 1. To ensure the maintenance of these saplings, each one will be geo-tagged and documented. High-quality saplings that are well-suited to our soil will be sourced from Rajahmundry in the neighbouring State of Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

“Information such as how much each planted sapling grows in a given year and its current condition will be recorded on the department’s website. The government has drawn up a long-term plan to increase forest cover in the Kalyana Karnataka region by 10–20% over the next 10-15 years,” he said.

On the overall green initiative, Mr. Khandre said that approximately 8.5 crore saplings have been planted after the Congress government came to power in the State.

“Officials claim that around 80%-90% of these saplings survive and grow. However, following an independent third-party review, it has been found that about 70% of the saplings are actually surviving,” he said.

He said that “if the board can allocate ₹100 crore for increasing green cover in the Kalyana Karnataka region, it will be highly beneficial.”