New village assets
Plantations by the panchayats and social forestry in the vacant state land at the village level are proving to be a new asset for the panchayats.
According to the government figures during the past nine months of this financial year, 27932.25 quintal fodder and 17982.855 quintal fuel wood has been distributed among 29043 households in 20 districts of the UT. An amount of Rs. 3.33 crore is expected to be transferred to the Village fund accounts of 45 Gram Panchayats as 75% share of the proceeds of mature plantations.
The Sarpanchs and Panchs besides other prominent civil society members suggested increasing the development of Rain Water Harvesting Structures in Kandi belts of these districts to ease out the issues of water scarcity. People are appreciative of benefits which have started accruing due to afforestation and Water and Soil Conservation works. Benefits like increase in agricultural productivity, enhanced supply of forest based produce and supply of water besides moderation of climatic conditions are the expected outcomes of these interventions.
The Department of Social Forestry has initiated measures to take up plantation of fodder yielding local plant species to augment and ensure continual supply of fodder. Farmers are being provided multipurpose plant saplings including medicinal plants for taking up plantation under Agro/Farm Forestry on their farm lands. It plays an important role in increasing income, supply of raw material to wood based industries, creating employment avenues besides mitigating effects of climate change.
