State looking for public help to conserve forests

NAGPUR, June 14: The Maharashtra Government has decided to protect and conserve forests through peoples' participation on the lines of the B...

NAGPUR, June 14: The Maharashtra Government has decided to protect and conserve forests through peoples’ participation on the lines of the Botha pattern, said the Maharashtra Minister of State for Forests, Vinod Gudadhe-Patil here on Friday.

The minister spoke to villagers of Phetri, Chicholi, Bodhala, Borgaon, Erla, Ashti, and other neighbouring villages of the city.He asserted that without the help of the people it would be difficult to protect and conserve the forests and hence the State Government had decided to involve locals in forest management. The World Bank (WB) which had given loans to the state forest department had insisted on the involvement of locals in managing the forests.

The forest department had already engaged local people to protect and conserve degraded forests in the State. It may ask them to look after reserve and protected forests also.

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He appealed to the villagers that they should help the government to protect and conserve forests. “Ultimately the property of the State isthe property of the people, and hence the people should come forward to protect it,” he said.

He informed the villagers of Phetri that a sum of Rs 3.76 lakh was sanctioned to provide drinking water to the village and its nearby areas. A power station of 33 KV would be set up in the area for smooth power supply to the region.During the visit, the minister also heard the grievances of the people of nearby villages of the city. Chairman of Nagpur Panchayat Samiti Alakabai Chavan, Executive Engineer of Jeevan Pradhikaran Hemant Landge, and Krishnaji Borate, one of the trustees of Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) accompanied the minister during his one-day Nagpur rural visit.

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