Green India Mission comes to Senapati
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, June 15 2012: As part of the Green India Mission being taken up by the Government of India, an awareness programme cum participatory rural appraisal (PRA) exercise was held under the aegis of DFO, Northern Forest Division, Kangpokpi at Chawangkining village in Senapati district today.

Along with releasing earmarking an amount of Rs 10.3 Dollar Billion, the Mission is being taken up for a period of 10 years.

Speaking as Chief Guest on the occasion, PV Guite, Divisional Forest Officer of the Northern Forest Division said that Manipur has become a part of Green India Mission.

Under this mission, 10 units including one each for both Kangpokpi and Senapati, and Jiribam and Tato and eight for each of the remaining eight districts would be set up.

In the first phase, series of awareness programmes on tree plantation would be organized and trees of villagers' choice would be selected for the plantation.

A resource person delivering lecture during an awareness programme on Green India Mission at Senapati

In the second phase, Joint Forest Management Committee would be formed for preparing saplings of the selected trees and plantation.

After Forest Department and the Committee work together for a decade, the villagers would be entitled to use the benefits of the forest, Guite explained, adding that as the rate of success is low in planting the trees without keeping in mind of the villagers' choice, the selection of trees has become mandatory.

Under the mission, a unit is to cover 10 hectares of land area.

Out of this, 5 hectares would be used for new plantation and the remaining 5 hectare for preserving the existing trees.

A developmental program of villagers' choice selected by the units would also be included in the plantation programme.

So the villagers' participating in the mission would be encouraged to get maximum benefits, he added.

Sh Shamu, ex DFO of NFD, Kangpokpi, who attended the programme as one of the resource persons, observed that conservation of forest does not mean total abstention from cutting trees nor indiscriminate felling of trees.

What is important in conservation of forest is stop wild fire; prevent animals from venturing in areas where plantations have been taken up newly and selection of the mature trees for felling.

Stressing on the importance of conserving forest and its products, Shamu pointed out that many forest products including animals have curing power and they are being used for treatment of various ailments since time immemorial.

However, with the random killings, some of these valuable animals have become extinct now.

The programme was presided over by W Gaithou, Village Chief of Chawangkining village.