The Chhattisgarh government has decided to take up water conservation works on a large scale in forest areas of the state, a senior official said today.
Forest Minister Mahesh Gagda today gave the green signal to the Rs 250-crore plan while chairing a meeting of his department officials, he said.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) R K Tamta and other officials were present in the meeting.
As per the plan, about 1,306 water conservation structures, including stop dams, canals, small ponds and waterholes, would be built at a cost of around Rs 250 crore in forest areas under the jurisdiction of the Van Prabhandan Samiti (forest management committees), he said.
These structures will be constructed through several schemes, including the rural job scheme MNREGA and the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), he added.
In the first phase of the project, water conservation facilities will be developed in Raigarh forest division, under Bilaspur forest circle, which is currently facing an elephant menace, the official said.
The water bodies will provide relief to elephants and stop them from straying outside the forests into villages and at the same time act as a source of irrigation for farmers, he said.
The thick forested northern part of the state, comprising Surguja, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, is known for human-elephantconflict.
The region has witnessed several killings of tribals and widespread damage to houses and crops by rogue elephants in the past few years.
According to forest officials, the forest area of the state is around 59,772 sq km, which is 44.21 per cent of the state's geographical area (1,35,191 sq km).
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