Mandya Forest Minister Orders Green Drive

Forest Minister Eshwar B Khandre has launched a comprehensive environmental protection drive across Mandya district, emphasizing grassroots efforts to combat global warming. The minister has ordered officials to conduct a thorough survey of trees along Mandya city roads to preserve urban green cover.

To bolster afforestation, the department will cultivate and distribute superior saplings, including teak, sandalwood, and honne, across seven zones. A critical component of this initiative is the mandate for regular follow-up surveys to guarantee sapling survival rates, ensuring accountability in the planting process.

Addressing escalating human-wildlife conflicts, immediate measures are to be implemented for leopard encounters. Furthermore, strong local networks will be fostered to aid in the timely detection of forest fires, poaching, and illegal logging.

To combat timber theft, the minister has decreed the geo-tagging of valuable tree species like sandalwood and red sanders on both government and private lands bordering forest areas.

Regarding land management, delays in finalizing forest boundaries will be rectified with the appointment of forest settlement officers. Encroachments exceeding three acres and all illegal occupations post-2015, totaling over 2,000 acres, are to be removed.

A review meeting is scheduled later this month to discuss strategies for mitigating human-elephant conflict, including railway barricading, elephant trenches, and solar fencing.