Commercial tree plantation will be encouraged on a large scale to increase Farmer’s income
‘Rally for Rivers’ movement applauded Chhattisgarh’s ‘Mukhyamantri Vriksha Sampada Yojana’
Raipur, 19 August 2023 / The ‘Mukhyamantri Vriksha Sampada Yojana’, initiated by Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel aims at boosting farmers’ income and improving the environment. This scheme is implemented by the Department of Forest and Climate Change. The ‘Rally for Rivers’ movement has congratulated the Chhattisgarh Government for the ‘Mukhyamantri Vriksha Sampada Yojana’. Taking to Twitter, the movement extended best wishes saying-“this is a wonderful initiative of the state government to increase the income of farmers through commercial tree plantation.”
The ‘Mukhyamantri Vriksha Sampada Yojana’, launched in Chhattisgarh, is the first-of-its-kind major campaign at the national level to promote commercial tree plantation on a large scale. Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel launched this scheme on March 21, on the occasion of the International Day of Forests. Under this scheme, a target is set to plant 15 crore saplings of various species in 1.80 lakh acres of private land in five years.
Nearly, 23,600 farmers have registered for planting commercial trees on 36,230 acres of land. Through this scheme, farmers are expected to earn an annual income of Rs 15,000 to 50,000 per acre. Apart from this, farmers will also receive income through carbon credits. The scheme provides a 100 per cent subsidy to beneficiaries who do commercial tree plantation on five acres and a 50 per cent subsidy to beneficiaries who do plantation on more than five acres. The state government has assured for the first time to purchase trees of identified species at minimum support price through this scheme.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Shri V. Srinivasa Rao said that farmers, interested landowners, government, semi-government and autonomous institutions, private educational institutions, private trusts, panchayats, and land leaseholders can take advantage of the scheme. Trees such as Clonal Eucalyptus, Root Shoot Teak, Tissue Culture, Sandalwood, Melia Dubia, Normal Bamboo, Tissue Culture Bamboo, Red Sandalwood, Amla, Khamar, Shisham, and Mahaneem will be planted. This scheme will also prove to be important from the point of view of environmental protection and soil health. This scheme will also give a boost to wood-based industries.
