Clones of eucalyptus,sheesham yielding good results: Minister

Punjab Forest Minister Tikshan Sud was in the city to attend a state-level vanmahotsav on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion,Sud said clones of eucalyptus and sheesham are gaining popularity in the agro-forestry sector of the state. “The project was started around two years ago by the Forest department and it is yielding good results. Now,Rs 3 crore is being spent to provide clone saplings to farmers,” he said. The clone saplings are being sold by the forest department to generate revenue and also promote agro-forestry business,said the minister. He added that the area under forest cover will be increased to 15 per cent by the year 2017 which at present is only 6.5 per cent. Sud,however,chose to remain mum over mass deforestation in the name of development projects and widespread encroachment of forestland. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sukhpal Singh Nannu,Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav and other officials accompanied Sud.