Bhubaneswar: The State Forest Department has formulated forestry projects of Rs 602 crore, during the financial year 2020-21, which are duly approved by the MGNREGA Convergence Committee.
These projects will be executed this year. Last year, the Forest Department had utilised Rs 70 Crore in forestry projects under MGNREGA.
Plantations & Nurseries, Soil Moisture Conservation Works, Digging of Trench around Forest, SSO Timber, Forest Road and other works are normally carried out by Forest Department utilising MGNREGA funds. The Forest Road repairs are taken up first time under MGNREGA.
Under this scheme, there is a plantation target of around 40,000 hectares of area & 5,000 Row Kilometer Avenue Plantation. Besides this, 3.5 crore seedlings will be distributed among all beneficiaries, out of which, 17,340-hectare area & 2,687 Row Kilometer Avenue Plantation have been achieved and 58 lakh seedlings have been distributed up to August 15, 2020.
So far funds to the tune of Rs 65 crore have been utilized and 35 lakh Mandays has been generated during 2020-21 up to August 15, 2020, against the last year’s total utilization of Rs 86 crore.
The generation of high employment opportunities under MGNREGA would cater to the large number of migrant labourers amid prevalent COVID pandemic apart from restoration of forests, eco-system & bio-diversity, expressed Forest & Environment Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha.
