From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Nov 29: A Government Order (GO) banning the planting of Eucalyptus and Acacia on all forest and government lands in Karnataka would be issued within a month.
Euclyptus and Acacia are neither fruit-bearing nor do they provide the necessary shelter for birds. To make it worse, these trees do not help in enhancing water table and their cultivation does not help the community is any significant manner.
This is the opinion of the Karnataka’s Forest Minister C H Vijayashankar, who said the Forest Department would be issuing the GO within a month, and made it clear that all the government nurseries in the state would stop distributing of the saplings of the two species of trees.
The minister said the plummeting of the water table below 1,000 feet in parts of Kolar district, which had become a serious problem in supplying drinking water, could be attributed to indiscriminate cultivation of eucalyptus.
The Forest Department would educate the people about disadvantages of these variety of trees and appeal them against cultivation of saplings of two plants on private lands, Vijayashankar said.
He said there were instances of people opting for eucalyptus and acacia cultivation in rain catchment of areas of Malnad and semi-Malnad areas, which was contributing to depletion of underground water level.
The Forest Department would prepare a blueprint for increasing the green cover in the state and a policy on planting trees on both sides of roads would soon be announced. ''The Government is very keen on improving the green cover all over the state,” he said.
Instead of planting samplings of Eucalyptus and Acacia, the department in collaboration with departments of education, revenue, rural development and panchayat raj, urban development, health, and water resources would educate the public and school children about the importance of planting of sapplings of fruit bearing trees on barren, forest and private lands in the State, he said.
While the Education Department would be urged to include forest and environment related topics in school syllabus (I to VII standard), and increase greenery around schools by planting more sapplings, the Water Resources Department would be requested to plant saplings of variety of plants on catchment areas to enhance water table and prevention of soil erosion, said Vijayashankar.
The Water Resources Department would be asked to set aside 10 per cent of the budgetary allocations for planting of saplings on catchment areas, he said.
The Urban Development would be requested to issue directions to all urban local bodies and city corporations to plant more saplings in their jurisdiction to increase green cover by enhancing the budgetary allocations.
The Public Works department would also be asked to plant saplings on both sides of roads, the minister added.