A young girl carries a sapling distributed at the Campal nursery on World Environment Day. Narayan Pissurlenkar
MAPUSA
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said the State government will plant more than five lakh trees and create 100 water bodies in the forest.
“The forest department initiates a lot of activities every year. This year we have decided to create 100 water bodies in the forest. We have also decided to plant more than 5 lakh saplings within the next three months,” Sawant said.
The Chief Minister was addressing the State on the occasion of the World Environment Day which is celebrated on June 5 around the globe.
Sawant also informed that the forest department has trained 250 youth as “nature guides”.
“These youth trained as nature guides have been drawn from different parts of the State. They will disseminate information on Goa's rich bio-diversity,” he said.
Accepting that human-animal conflict has caused a lot of hardship to people who live near the forest area, the CM said the government has provided relief to the tune of Rs 10 lakh as part of compensation to those who have been victims of the conflict.
He also stated that the wildlife rescue team has been working round the clock around the forest areas.
Sawant has also stressed on his government's vision in promoting eco-tourism in wildlife sanctuaries of Bondla, Mollem and Cotigao.
“We have been organising special events such as bird festival, forest food festival, bird walk, turtle conservation, forest fun days etc at Mollem bio-diversity park and other areas,” he said.
“New nurseries have also been set up at Harvalem and Dharbandora,” he added.
The chief minister also reiterated that only if the government and people work together then only will we be able to restore the ecosystem.
“My appeal to you, let’s restore the ecosystem together,” he said.
Later during the day, the CM inaugurated a medicinal plant garden in his home constituency, Sankhelim. The garden has been named after the Indian patriot, Subhash Chandra Bose.
