DW BUREAU / Chandigarh With a view to conserve environment and increase the forest area, tree plantation will be done on an area of 2070 hectare and 10 new hi-tech nurseries will be set up. Besides this, natural regeneration of forests will be done on an area of 600 hectares. Haryana Chief Secretary, Sanjeev Kaushal said this during the 5th meeting of the Steering Committee of the Haryana State Forest CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) held under his chairmanship here today. Sanjeev Kaushal said that concerted efforts are being made towards environment conservation. He added that as a result of these efforts the State is leading in agroforestry. In the meeting the Annual Plan for the year 2022-2023 costing Rs 282 crore was approved under which survey and mapping of the areas prone to fire incidents, compensatory afforestation work, soil and moisture conservation, wildlife management work will be done. Sh. Sanjeev Kaushal instructed that priority should be given to natural regeneration of forest, accordingly artificial forest regeneration should be implemented. Apart from this, the environmental protection works being done in neighbouring states should also be studied so that best practices can be implemented in Haryana. It was informed in the meeting that during the year 2022-23, at least 10 hi-tech nurseries would be set up in the state, on which Rs 35 crore would be spent. Apart from this, various activities will also be taken up for establishment, upgradation and maintenance of modern nurseries, on which Rs 3 crore will be spent. Emphasis will be on soil and moisture conservation in the forest area It was informed in the meeting that due to the hilly and undulating topography of Shivaliks in the northern part of the state and Aravalli region in the southern part, rainwater harvesting is not possible and the top soil is lost in the form of soil erosion due to water flow. And groundwater recharge is also adversely affected. Therefore, soil conservation measures like construction of earthen dams, masonry structures, cement concrete structures, check dams, silt detention dams and crate wire structures etc. will be made for which Rs 20 crore will be spent. The Chief Secretary was apprised that there are 2 National Parks, 7 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 2 Conservation Reserves and 5 Community Reserves in the State. Various activities like construction of kutcha pond, removal of weeds, construction of sand dunes, plantation of native species in protected areas and development of grasslands will be undertaken for a wildlife friendly environment. Apart from this, for the conservation and better management of wildlife in the state, infrastructure like construction of aviary for birds, shelter for reptiles, bird treatment centre and feeding platform will also be created for which Rs 4 crore will be spent. Apart from this, Rs 20 lakh will also be spent for the supply of wood-saving cooking equipment, biomass based wooden plates and other forest produce saving equipment to the villages. The meeting also approved the construction of residential and official buildings in the forests for the front line staff deployed for the protection of forests and wildlife. About Rs 10 crore will be spent on this. In the meeting, Finance Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Sh. PK Das, Additional Chief Secretary, Fisheries, Sh. Ashok Khemka, Additional Chief Secretary, Forest and Wildlife Department, Sh. AK Singh, along with distinguished representatives of Government of India and other senior officials were present. (editor@dailyworld.in)