CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday launched Green Tamil Nadu Mission with an ambitious target of planting 265 crore seedlings of native trees in an area of about 13,500 sq.km in 10 years. The mission aims to increase the green cover of the State from 23.98% to 33% of its land area.
There was a festive mood at the inaugural ceremony near Vandalur zoo with the participation of a large number of school children, representatives from the private sector, who presented cheques to the CM supporting the green initiative.
Stalin said, "During the Gaja cyclone, it was the Muthupet mangrove forest that mitigated the effect and saved the people. Native tree varieties reduce the impact of climate change. So, I congratulate the Pasumai Tamil Nadu movement for its plan to plant local saplings. They have grown 2.80 crore saplings in 350 nurseries in a short time. Keeping the economics in mind, farmers will also be encouraged to grow trees like sandalwood and red sanders. We will try to increase the tree cover without compromising on food protection. People should participate in the movement and make it successful," he said.
Environment secretary Supriya Sahu said Tamil Nadu intends to sustainably manage its forest and tree cover recognising its key role in climate change adaptation and mitigation. "The State plans to augment the national efforts in creating the additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes in its forest and tree cover by the year 2030 as a part of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitments under the Paris Agreement."
The government said under this Mission, 265 crores seedlings of native trees of economic and ecological significance will be planted over a period of 10 years on suitable public lands like urban areas, farms, educational institutions, temple grounds, sacred groves, industrial areas, tank foreshore, padugai areas etc covering an area of about 13,500 sq.km.
"Utmost care will be taken to ensure that suitable tree species with optimum growth are planted considering edaphic and climate conditions of the site. This will ensure optimum survival after planting. Planting of non-native species, tree planting drives on grasslands and wetlands, and promotion of monoculture will be discouraged," Sahu said.
Deepak Srivastava, director, Green Tamil Nadu Mission, said third party monitoring will be carried out. The district green committee will inspect the land parcels made available for sapling plantations.
In the G.O issued last year, the government said remote sensing and geospatial-based decentralised monitoring mechanism for geo-tagging of all the planted seedlings would be developed for the purpose of concurrent/ real-time monitoring and supervision of planted seedlings along with their status of growth.
The government accorded administrative and financial sanction for Rs 21 crore for raising and planting of 47 lakh seedlings in the current financial year and Rs 17.80 crore for raising nursery of 130 lakh seedlings for planting next financial year.
Numbers
Total geographical area of Tamil Nadu - 1,30,060 sq.km
Current forest and tree cover -- 31,194.02 sq.km (23.98% of land area)
Targeted forest and tree cover -- 42,919.80 sq.km (33% of land area)