J’khand to plant 2.5cr saplings this monsoon

Ranchi: Jharkhand will plant 2.5 crore saplings this monsoon season besides other measures to enhance forest quality and also to restore ecosystems and bring about a qualitative change in soil, a top forest official said on Sunday.Jharkhand boasts 23,721 square kilometre of forest cover which is 29.76 per cent of its total geographical area, higher than the 21.71 per cent of forest cover pan India.“We will be having plantation drives across the state, including Van Mahotsav and awareness plans, in order to enrich our ecosystems and increase the forest cover in the state,” principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) and head of forest force (HoFF), Sanjay Srivastava said.“In Ranchi alone, one lakh trees will be planted. We are also targeting river banks and this (plantation drive) will be taken up in over 110 km of river bank area”, Srivastava said.The PCCF said it is heartening to see that there is a gradual increase in the forest cover in the state, and as per recent data, there has been an increase of 110 square km of forest area in the state. PTI