Alwar: The Rajasthan forest department will conduct a study by three agencies along with drone surveys to assess the survival rates of the saplings planted by it and NGOs under various drives. The survival rate of saplings will help the department to understand the impact of plantation as well as to plan corrective steps as needed.
The move, which is being taken for the first time in the state, is aimed at taking a count of the planted saplings that have survived. These days, sapling are planted by not only the forest department but various organisations across the state. Due to this, crores of new saplings are being planted every year but neither the department nor the organisations planting the saplings have any information about how many of these survive. To learn about the survival rate of the planted saplings, the department has decided to conduct an in-depth assessment.
According to the department, the plantation drive has already helped in increasing the forest area across the districts, including Alwar. Compared to 2021, the forest area of Alwar district alone has increased by about 16.39 square kilometres this year and the reason has been attributed to the plantation drive.
Forest Minister Sanjay Sharma said saplings need adequate amount of water and protection to survive. "The forest department is taking all kinds of efforts in this direction. Plantation is a continuous process and it is difficult to say that all 100 saplings planted will survive. But, even if 80 out of 100 saplings survive, it will be a big achievement towards saving our environment," Sharma said.
The minister said that for the first time, the forest department has decided to conduct audit by three agencies namely Bhopal's "Indian Institute of Forest Management", Jaipur's "Centre for Development Communication and Studies" and Jodhpur's "Arid Forest Research Institute".
The Centre for Development Communication and Studies will evaluate 77 sites of Bharatpur and Jaipur divisions, while Indian Institute of Forest Management will evaluate 132 sites of Ajmer, Kota and Udaipur divisions. The Arid Forest Research Institute will evaluate 97 sites of Bikaner and Jodhpur divisions.
These agencies will evaluate the saplings planted in 'Hariyalo Rajasthan', 'Urban Green Lungs', 'Vriksharopan Maha Abhiyan', 'Matrivan', 'Nagar Van' and 'Lavkush Vatikas'.
The initiative will help the forest department and related institutions to correctly assess the impact of plantation and take more effective steps in the future, the minister added.
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