Says govt will urge Centre to release Rs 227 cr

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the state government would urge the Centre to release Rs 277 crore to the state. The amount had erroneously been deposited in the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority of India (CAMPA) by the Ministry of Defence as the cost of trees under its projects.

New Delhi: The government is set to revise the levy charged from project developers for using forestland.

Thirteen units were operating illegally and one unit was closed down in Sidhra area while 13 others including five stone crushers, have been granted ‘consent to operate’ by the State Pollution Control Board in the same area.

Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology, Mian Altaf while giving reply to the question of PDP member Murtaza Ahmed Khan in the Legislative Council today disclosed that SPCB has granted permission to operate 13 units in Sidhra, Ragoora and Majeen area.

The government’s plan to increase and improve the quality of India’s forests has run into a wall due to shortage of funds. The Green India Mission, which is part of the government’s National Action Plan on Climate Change, has set a goal of increasing forest cover by 5 million hectares and improving the quality of forests on another 5 million hectares by 2020, an effort that’s going to cost. 46000 crore over a ten year period.

The Planning Commission was entrusted with the task of raising additional funds, over and above the. 8,500 crore annual outlay on forestry. However, Plan panel has told the environment ministry to try and raise money from its own budget.

90 Trees Cut Near Butler Palace

Lucknow: A Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday restrained the state authorities from felling trees in the city for widening of roads. The court also asked if the authorities have any plan to plant new trees at alternative places to compensate for the trees cut down. Justice Uma Nath Singh and Justice VK Dixit passed the order on a PIL against cutting of trees in the Butler Palace area and Tilak Marg on Dalibagh, but it is likely to come as a deterrent in other instances of tree felling as well. Wideninf of NH24, for instance, has already taken a toll on some 8,200 trees.

Says PWD Didn’t Take Permission, Forest Department Told To Take Action

New Delhi: The public works department illegally felled trees for a road widening project, said chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday. In fact, she asked the forest department to submit a report on the irregularities and take punitive action against PWD. TOI had highlighted the indiscriminate lopping in Vasant Kunj on Monday.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has sought Rs 462 crore in its budgetary allocation for improving the forest cover in India by five million hectares over the next 10 years as part of

Laying stress on conservation and protection of rich bio-diversity of Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah today emphasized the need for rejuvenating the depleted forests and raising massive plantation on vacant available areas.

"Protection of forest wealth and rejuvenation of degraded forests are all the more necessary to maintain ecology, restrict climate change, save water bodies and fauna and flora of the State", he said asking for full utilization of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) initiative in this regard.

Advocacy group submits memorandum to the Forest Department

The Forest Department has been urged to hire people from the local communities as fire watchers in view of a prolonged dry season and the threat of forest fire in national parks. It has also been suggested that funding could be sought from State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority.