Over 5,000 hectares of land in Himachal Pradesh would be cleared this year of the shrub Lantana through a scientific process, Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmauri said today.
Talking to officers of the state forest department, the minister said that efforts were being made to remove the shrub from about 1.80 lakh hectares of land in the state.
Lantana is a perennial bush which has affected forests and grasslands in the state.
Making a presentation on Lantana and its uses, a team of scientists said that compressed timber of teakwood quality could be prepared from Lantana, whose cost would be one third that of the original.
