Odisha to spend Rs 200 crore for revival of coastal green cover

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday directed to prepare a five-year action plan on revival of coastal shelter belt and afforestation programme.

The state government has decided to spend Rs 200 crore for the programme in the next five years, said an official.

It was decided in a review meeting chaired by the Chief Minister on the revival of green cover in the coastal belt.

The state government took the decision following the large scale devastation to the green cover in the cyclone Fani that hit the coast on May 3.

The government has decided to carry out plantation on 800 hactare of land in next five years, the official said.

A total of 1.30 crore saplings will be distributed in 2019-20 in the cyclone-affected areas while five lakh saplings will be planted under the urban tree plantation programme in the next five year, the official added.

As per the preliminary reports, around nine lakh trees have been damaged inside forest and sanctuaries while five lakh trees were damaged outside sanctuaries. Besides, eight lakh saplings were damaged in the cyclone.