The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Tuticorin News : Rs.71 lakhs sanctioned for coastal afforestation in Tuticorin district

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 13, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Tuticorin

Rs.71 lakhs sanctioned for coastal afforestation in Tuticorin district

Staff Reporter

Rs.56 lakhs to be used for planting casuarinas on over 200 hectares

TUTICORIN: The State Government has sanctioned Rs.71 lakhs towards coastal afforestation activities in the district during the current fiscal.

V. Thirunavukarasu, District Forest Officer, told The Hindu that of the total fund allocation, Rs.56 lakhs would be used for planting casuarinas over 200 hectares of land spreading over four forest ranges namely Vilathikulam, Tuticorin, Srivaikuntam and Tiruchendur.

The rest of the amount (Rs.15 lakhs) would be utilised for participatory rural appraisals, micro plan preparations, soil conservation, and community development activities, in those coastal hamlets where the casuarinas plantations were to be raised.

The DFO said the community development activities included enhancement of basic amenities at the villages to rectify the infrastructure lacunae existed there.

Mr. Thirunavukarasu said as a prelude to raising plantation, the Forest department would start nursery activities from the third week of June, so that the casuarinas would be ready for planting in October.

"The project envisages raising 3,360 casuarinas plants per every hectare," he said, adding the grown casuarinas would be planted by the Forest department with the help of joint forest management committees, which comprised villagers of the respective areas, where the plantations were established."

The entire exercise of enhancing the shelterbelt plantations was aimed at blunting the impact of cyclones and marine-based natural calamities like tsunami on the Tuticorin costal line and thereby avert the loss of lives to a great extent, he said.

Mr. Thirunavukarasu said the department had begun the afforestation works in the district earmarked under the National Afforestation Programme, using the recently allocated funds to the tune of Rs.3.59 crores by the centre.

"As part of the project, the Forest department had started raising the seedlings of `babul' at various nurseries last week, which would be later planted at 54 tank foreshores, spreading over 1,000 hectares," he said.

Besides, trees like neem, cashew, holoptelia and pungam would be planted on 500 hectares of community land with an aim to green it, he added.

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