TIRUNELVELI: Even as small, marginal and landless farmers and farmhands across the State are getting a freebie of two acres of land from the government, the Department of Forest has come out with a novel scheme of planting a range of saplings in private lands so that the beneficiaries will get a substantial revenue in fifth year by harvesting those trees.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, the Conservator of Forests, Tirunelveli, Rampati Kushwaha, said the programme to be implemented for next five years, would see the planting of 5 lakh seedlings on 723 hectares of land in Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Tuticorin and Virudhunagar districts during the first year at the cost of Rs. 38.68 lakh as the State Government had earmarked Rs. 10 crore for executing this project in Tamil Nadu for current fiscal.
This fund will be utilised for digging the pit and planting the sapling.
Moreover, incentive in the form of subsidy at the rate of Rs. 1,500 for block cultivation on waste lands lying fallow for at least three years and Rs. 1,000 for inter-cropping plantation will be given to the farmers on the third month after the planting.
Under this scheme, it has been proposed to plant economically important, drought-resistant and rapidly-growing varieties like ailanthus, casuarina, eucalyptus, (for block cultivation) malai vaembu, teak, silver oak, Indian beech, kumil, vaagai, tamarind, silk cotton etc., (as inter-crop) during this monsoon.
Mr. Rampati made it clear that the government, which had planted the sapling on the land, would neither harvest the tree nor claim ownership of the land and hence the farmers could harvest and sell the timber in the market or to the wood-based industries.
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