Forest dept, tea gardens unite for afforestation prog

EOI, Darjeeling, 10 Jul 2014: The forest department and the tea industry of the hills have joined hands for an afforestation drive in the tea gardens to increase their green cover and biodiversity that have been declining rapidly.

The drive has got added impetus from the state government’s recent endeavour to increase the green area in Bengal by an additional 2,400 hectares. The programme covers the entire Darjeeling district and the drive is being implemented in the tea gardens given the availability of plantation area.

During the seven-day ‘Ban Mahotsav’, the forest department will provide 100 seedlings to the tea gardens. An organising committee was today formed comprising representatives of the forest department, district administration, tea industry, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and the police.

“We formed the committee and also decided to hand out saplings to 65 tea gardens under the Darjeeling Tea Association. We want to start the afforestation program to encourage green cover of the hills in the three sub-divisions,” said RP Saini, Special Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, adding the DTA has heartily approved of the green initiative in the gardens.

Saini said awards would also be given away to the garden that best implements the green project after an evaluation every second year. This will be followed by another award comprising the district level.

The forest department will also provide wildlife advisory to the tea gardens and ways to maintain biodiversity.

“We have already started providing the advisory to the gardens participating in the programme. Wildlife is an important part of the tea gardens. We will educate and make the gardens aware on how to tackle wildlife in their plantations. It must be remembered that certain seasons suit tea production and animal breeding simultaneously,” said Saini.

The conservator also said afforestation would help mitigate risks of landslides, improve moisture retention and replenish drinking water sources.

Sandeep Mukherjee, principal advisor to the DTA, welcomed the initiative and said all possible cooperation would be extended to make the project a success.

“We have 87 tea gardens under our organisation of which 65 have agreed to obtain the seedlings for planting in their areas. As most tea gardens have already gone organic, the afforestation program will receive additional help,” he said.

According to Mukherjee, the forest department has also given its approval to use wood of uprooted trees inside tea plantation areas.

“There is a Supreme Court ruling stating trees higher than 500 metres cannot be felled. However, natural calamities sometimes uproot such tall trees and in such circumstances, the trees can be used by workers after seeking the permission of the authorities,” he said.

The wood can also be sold as timber or used as firewood, but 25 per cent from the sale proceeds will be channeled to the workers’ welfare fund.

The forest department will also provide additional seedlings to the tea gardens if they demand so and in subsidised rates. Some members who attended the day’s meeting said a few gardens have asked for 1,000 saplings apart from the 100 being provided free of cost.