2 crore saplings along state’s coastline

BANGALORE: The Western Ghats Task Force (WGTF)planted about two crore saplings along the 90-km  length along the coastline of Karnataka in the last two years under its Coastal Line Green

BANGALORE: The Western Ghats Task Force (WGTF)planted about two crore saplings along the 90-km  length along the coastline of Karnataka in the last two years under its Coastal Line Green Cover scheme, WGTF Chairman Anantha Hegde Ashisara said here on Wednesday.

Speaking to newsmen here, the WGTF chairman said  the scheme which was launched in 2010 to strengthen the existing green cover along the coastal line was successful.

“Saplings were planted along the  90-km stretch of the coastal line, including in various districts of Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada,” he said.

The state government has released `8 crore to implement the scheme, he added.Expressing concern over the continuous plundering of the forest resources especially in the Western Ghat region, the WGTF chairmsaid lack of awareness about various environment conservation of laws and Acts both among the officials and the general public posed problems to preserve the green cover.

He said the WGTF has also demystified the law and taken governance closer to the people and gave them an idea on how preserve the environment through simple measures.

In this regard, it has organised a one-day consultation workshop on Legal Concerns of Western Ghats: Problems, Solutions and Way Forward on Thursday in Bangalore. He said that senior forest officers, representatives of local communities, civil society organisations, forest and wildlife administration, researchers and students of law would participate in the workshop, which would be inaugurated by Forest minister C P Yogeshwar.

Principal Secretary of Forest and Environment Kaushik Mukherjee, Chief Conservator of Forests Avani Kumar Varma,  former Advocate General Ashok Harnalli and  environmentalist A N Yallappa Reddy among others, who would participate in the workshop.

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