A day after a report showed that India added 1,243 sq km of tree cover since 2015, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday said that 1,000 crore saplings will be planted over the next 10 years.
The plantation will be held between 2021 to 2030 at several places and along the Ganges, the Minister said.
While increasing the green cover has emerged as the most ambitious plan of the Union Environment Ministry as reflected from its budget, the Minister said that the plantation programme will be done in the catchment area.
"The Ganga passes through five states where the plantation will be done in the catchment area," said Harsh Vardhan.
He added that it will be held under the Green India Mission for which, during the Budget of 2018-19, a whopping 48 per cent increment was proposed.
The plantation will be carried out in different parts of the country under programmes like CAMPA, Green India Mission, National Afforestation Programme, as well as plantation along highways and railway tracks.
Focused more on increasing the green cover, the Union Environment Ministry, which is proposed to be allocated Rs 2,675.42 crore in the 2018-19 Union Budget, the same as last year, has proposed maximum funds on tree-plantation drive.
Under the Ministry, "National Mission for Green India" which has been allocated Rs 159 crore for afforestation in 2018-19, an increase of Rs 52 crore over last fiscal, saw the biggest shoot in terms of funds allocated for a single programme.
--IANS
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