BHUBANESWAR: With the Ama Jungle Yojana (AJY) getting wide community acceptance, the State Government has set a target to constitute an additional 4,000 Vana Surakshya Samitis (VSS) next year.
After launching of the scheme in 2016-17, as many as 3,180 VSS have been formed and made functional in 23 forest divisions covering 1,58,000 hectares (ha) of area.
Each VSS is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and taking care of around 50 hectares of forest. Activities like silviculture, soil and moisture conservation, fire line tracing, checking of forest fire, natural regeneration, increasing density of degraded forest, assisted natural regeneration and entry point developmental activities in forest villages are taken up through the VSS.
A division-wise review on the performance of VSS by a high power committee held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi here revealed that forest area of around 1,33,731 ha has been treated under natural regeneration while green coverage in 1,010 ha has been deepened through block plantation.
Around 2.05 lakh beneficiaries have been brought into the fold of livelihood activities. Of the Rs 265 crore provisioned under the programme during the last two fiscal, Rs 217 crore has been utilised in these activities. The AJY scheme focuses on forest restoration, promotion of sustainable management of forest and improvement of livelihood of forest dependent communities.
Sources said so far, the project has been extended to 23 territorial and wildlife forest divisions in various districts like Mayurbhanj, Deogarh, Gajapati, Keonjhar, Angul, Sundargarh, Phulbani, Koraput, Rayagada, Balangir, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Keonjhar, Malkangiri and Kandhamal.
The Chief Secretary directed Forest officials to take up more livelihood activities in convergence with MGNREGS and Odisha Livelihood Mission. He asked the department to intensify alternative livelihood promotion activities so as to reduce direct dependence of people on the forest.