Forest department to raise over 5 lakh seedlings under Green Tamil Nadu Mission in Pudukottai
The 'range-wise' target for the current fiscal was given recently with the field-level officials asked to start the work of raising seedlings at the earliest. Pudukottai district encompasses six forest ranges: Pudukottai, Keeranur, Ponnamaravathy, Aranthangi , Tirumayam, Forest Extension -I and Forest Extension - II. The target for raising seedlings for the two Forest Extension Ranges is over one lakh each.
The target set for Pudukottai Forest Range is 55,000 seedlings; 60,000 seedlings each for Keeranur and Ponnamaravathy ranges; 50,000 for Aranthangi range and 40,000 for Tirumayam range, said the department sources. Preliminary work connected with raising the seedlings have begun, including soil collection and formation of mother beds at the nurseries.
The seedlings would be raised at the forest department nurseries situated at Machuvadi, Thoppukollai, Kurumbur and Vengalamedu. Seedlings of species including casuarina, teak, mahagani, red sanders, illupai, pungan and naaval are planned to be raised. The plan is to raise the seedlings well before the onset of the northeast monsoon to plant them on the lands of farmers during October-November, the sources said.
One of the broad objectives of the Green Tamil Nadu Mission is to expand tree cover on farmlands to complement agricultural crops and develop a strong institutional marketing linkage for tree growers to enhance income opportunities. The sources said seedlings would be given free to government departments, institutions and local bodies requiring them under the Green Tamil Nadu Mission.
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