DHARMAPURI: The forest department has restored 100 hectares of degraded forest land in Palayam Pudhur in Thoppur Reserve Forest in Dharmapuri forest range. The department had planted over 10,000 native tree species such as pungan, sacred fig, banyan tree, rosewood, teak and vembu, among others, under the Green Tamil Nadu Mission through NABARD scheme.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Supriya Sahu, additional chief secretary, Department of Environment Forests and Climate Change said restoring degraded forests is one of the most powerful actions to protect biodiversity and combat climate changes.
"This initiative not only rejuvenates a once degraded ecosystem, but also teaches us to invest in restoration to revive biodiversity and build climate resilience," she said
R Arun Prasath, then forest range officer of Dharmapuri forest range, who recently received an award from Chief Minister MK Stalin on World Environment Day for the work, said their round-the-clock care has yielded good results.
"We readied the pits three months before, in October 2023, when the planting commenced and plantation continued for three months. The monsoon rain has helped us with the plant's growth. Moreover, from December, we began spraying water using tractors on a regular basis," said Arun Prasath
"We have engaged two watchers to prevent cattle from entering inside the field. We have also covered the entire area using available plants, including prosperous juliflora, to prevent the entry of cattle. However, despite restrictions and warnings, local cattle owners have taken the cattle inside the forest land. We imposed fines of Rs 1,000 if a goat or cow enters this land. Totally, we have collected Rs 50,000 from 20 violators, after which they stopped,” he added.
Sources in Dharmapuri forest division said such plantation drives in places such as Reddihalli and Barigam have also been successful.