Date:01/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/01/stories/2009010157380100.htm

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Nod for planting teak saplings in seven divisions

R. Rajaram

The project will be implemented at a cost of Rs.35.31 crore

TIRUCHI: The State government has given approval for raising teak plantations on ‘Padugai’ land for six years, from 2008-09 to 2013-14, in seven divisions, including Tiruchi and Thanjavur.

The project, aimed at enhancing tree cover outside the reserve forest areas, will be implemented on 20,700 hectares at a total cost of Rs.35.31 crore, of which the government has released Rs. 5.25 crore this fiscal.

In the Tiruchi division alone, saplings will be planted on 300 hectares along the canal banks this year. The Tiruchi Social Forestry Division, which has jurisdiction over six districts in the central region, will plant the saplings on 400 hectares separately during the current year.

The Forest Department has identified the canal banks in the Tiruchi division for planting 60,000 saplings this year, District Forest Officer D. Mani told The Hindu. The teak saplings would be planted along the waterbodies of ‘Kodiyangal Vadikal’ near Kuzhumani and ‘Puthiya Kattalai Kalvai’ in the Musiri taluk. The Tiruchi division has been allocated Rs.22.87 lakh for 2008-09. Besides the Tiruchi and Thanjavur divisions, the project will be implemented in the Madurai, Sivaganga, Dindigul and Villupuram divisions.

The Forest Department will maintain the saplings for three years and replace the damaged ones, if any. The ‘Padugai’ teak cultivation scheme is aimed at meeting not only the State’s timber requirement but also helping the Government generate revenue through the sale of teakwood. The teak saplings planted on the canal banks will help to prevent soil erosion and encroachments, Forest Department officials say.