Forest Minister Shri Sartaj Singh planted saplings on Bhagirath hillock at village Hansalpur in Mhow tahsil of the district today at a programme organised by the Forest Department.

AHMEDABAD: The forest department, in order to improve environmental status of the city, has decided to convert wasteland or common land in urban spaces into well-planted green areas.

If there was shortage of such land, a city could utilize the vacant land in the areas situated on the periphery, under the urban development authorities, an official from the department said.

As a part of measures to ensure the environment free from pollution and to provide green coverage, Forest Minister K.T.Pachaimal has launched a new scheme — planting of saplings on both sides of road throughout Kanyakumari district on Sunday.

The scheme, to be implemented by the Departments of Highways and Forest, was launched at Aralvoimozhi-Chenbagaramanputhur highway for balancing the global warming and to provide green cover in the district. Under the programme on both sides of national and State highways, one lakh saplings would be planted in the district.

AHMEDABAD: The first ever tree count taken up by the urban bodies will lead to the formation of a development plan for improving environment of the cities in the state.

The state government officials said that a tree survey to estimate tree population in the rural areas, outside the forests of Gujarat, was done in 2003 and 2009, but no such assessment was carried out for the urban parts of the state. Hence in 2011, the social forestry department decided to conduct the first tree counting in all eight municipal corporations, urban authorities areas and 159 municipalities.

JAIPUR: After mining denuding the topography ruthlessly, there is hope for the Aravalis and Vindhya ranges in the state as Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) undertakes restoration of ecological status through reforestation. The project would also increase green cover, improve water table and augment the economy of the villagers besides reducing dependence on the forests.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Wednesday sanctioned Rs 284.33 crore for the first phase of the greening project. The total outlay is more than Rs 900 crore which will be distributed in three phases to the forest department.

Welfare schemes being drawn up for tribals

Forest Minsiter K.T. Pachamal said the State government was making efforts to conserve forests and expand forest areas. Giving away financial assistance to several beneficiaries at the Gudiyatham Forest Range office on Tuesday, the Minister said the forest expanse had shrunk during the previous DMK government.

Solan: With a view to enhancing the area under forests by 10 million hectares in the next 10 years across the country, a national mission to develop forests by restocking land and planting trees on

PANJIM: Even as forest department is bracing up to clear a backlog of afforesting 2300 hectares of degraded land pending since 2004 under Compensatory Afforestration Fund Management Authority (CAMPA), the non availability of degraded land has created impediment for the officials.

Forest department officials said that the state has good forest cover making it difficult to get the degraded woods, which are essential for afforestration under CAMPA. Union government’s ambitious scheme seems to have been jinxed right from its announcement in the state. The Centre had held back the amount since 2004 till 2009-10 due the petition pending in the Supreme Court.

Senegal's capitol city Dakar sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean on a peninsula.

SHILLONG: The State Government is contemplating to come up with an Executive Order (EO) to hold mine owners responsible for any untoward incidents that might occur inside mining areas owned by them.

“We would soon come with the Executive Order as the Government is concerned over the lack of safety norms in mining areas across the State which is posing a serious threat to the life of the thousands of labourers who are working in these mines,” Deputy Chief Minister Bindo Mathew Lanong and in charge Mining and Geology said here on Thursday.