Andhra plans to boost forest cover to 50 pc by 2047

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

The state government on Tuesday created state and district-level agencies to achieve 50 per cent forest and tree cover across Andhra Pradesh by 2047, an official said.

Kantilal Dande, Principal Secretary, Environment and Forests Department, said AP-GREEN and the DGDAs will implement the State Greening Mission.

“After careful examination of the proposal, the government hereby creates Andhra Pradesh Society for Greening and Reforestation for Ecological Enrichment and the District Green Cover Development Agencies for the implementation of the State Greening Mission,” Dande said in a GO.

He said the state government has accorded high priority to increasing green cover as part of its vision of “Haritha (green) Andhra Pradesh.”

Achieving this target requires a dedicated institutional mechanism to pool resources, coordinate between stakeholder departments and agencies, mobilise public participation, and implement greening activities in mission mode, he said.

AP-GREEN will function at the state level, while DGDAs will operate at the district level for planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of greening programmes.

As an autonomous institution, AP-GREEN will bring together various government schemes, CSR and CER initiatives, externally aided projects, Environment Management Cess (EMC), and other funding sources. It will focus on increasing green cover through plantations, agro-forestry, urban greening, restoration of degraded lands, and community participation programmes, Dande added.