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Vriksha Mitra award for North Ghumusar forest division

Staff Reporter

BERHAMPUR: North Ghumusar forest division was selected for the prestigious Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra (IPVM) award for the year 2005.

Speaking to The Hindu , Divisional Forest Officer Godabarish Panda said they had already received the communiqué from the Central Forest Department. The award would be presented at function in New Delhi on the World Environment Day in June. "We have been adjudged the best Forest Development Agency in the country. The tribal Vana Sukshya Samities (VSS) as well forest officials of the division should share the honour," he said.

Afforestation

The work of afforestation and wasteland development through joint management of local tribals and the Forest Department started in the forest division having its headquarters at Bhanjanagar in Ganjam district way back in 1993. Then, there were only two VSS in the region. But now, the division boasts of 169 active VSS mostly located in tribal villages. Former DFO S. Nanda, the predecessor of Mr. Panda, also owed a lot for this achievement.

The division has 948.44 square km of forest land in Ganjam and Kandhamal districts. Out of it, around 248 square km are being protected and sustained by joint forest management through the VSS. Each VSS has been given responsibility of joint protection of 200 hectares of forest with the help of forest officials. The VSS members get non-timber forest produce from the forest protected by them free of cost. Apart from it, they also get royalty from commercial collection of forest produce like bamboo for paper mills. At Dengabhuin village, an electrification project is on where generator is run by vegetable oil manufactured from forest produce.

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