KOLKATA: Iterating that the West Bengal government was committed to creating a sustainable environment, forest minister Rajib Banerjee said on Thursday that 21.30 percent of the state's overall geographical area has been brought under green cover in the last nine years.
Banerjee, who was addressing a press meet, said the state will achieve its target of planting five crore mangrove saplings in Cyclone Amphan-hit Sunderbans in a month's time.
Bengal has increased its forest cover to 21.30 percent from 17.27 percent in 2011, the minister said.
"Under 'Ekti sishu ekti gaach' (one child one tree) project, introduced in 2017, altogether 37,36,979 saplings have already been distributed among families of newborns in last three years," he said.
Referring to the achievements of the state forest department to create a conducive wildlife habitat, he said from 26 rhinoceros in past, the number in the state has shot up to 287, according to the 2019 census, "as we are now only second to Assam" when it comes to rhino population.
Similarly, in the latest nationwide census of tigers, the number of big cats in Sunderbans has risen to 96 "and we will reach the 100 mark very soon", he said.
The minister said the state is the first in successful breeding of vultures, and six have been released recently and they are doing well.
Eight more vultures will be released next year. The minister further said that the next of kin of 434 people, killed in wild animal attacks in last couple of years, have got job as home guards.
The department, in a bid to prevent man-elephant conflicts, has launched rapid response Airavat vehicles which can rush to a spot at the earliest, he said.
The number of casualties in such incidents have gone down in the past few years.
"We are trying to minimise conflicts and bring down the casualty figure further," he said.
The state forest department also granted Rs 345 crore over the last decade for developing slums in the contiguous areas of forests in different parts of the state.
"We are building and developing communities in the contiguous areas of forests. This will help one lakh people living in the forest areas," he said.
Banerjee, while listing the state's achievements, said the state has set up two wildlife sanctuaries in the recent past -- the West Sundarbans Wildlife Sanctuary and Pakhibitan Wildlife Sanctuary at Gajoldoba in North Bengal.
"Also in January, 2019, the Sunderbans biosphere reserve has been declared the largest protected wetland in the country by Ramsar site," he said, adding that his department was happy that the Darjeeling Zoological Park has been declared as the best in the country by the Centre.