: Wednesday, 04 June 2025 7:29 pm
Dehra. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvindra Singh Sukhu today honored the Village Forest Management Society (Village Forest Management Society) of District Kangra and Chamba under the KFW project in Dehra in Kangra district. On this occasion, he called upon the youth to actively join nature and forest conservation campaign. The Chief Minister presented cash prizes to the Village Forest Management Committees who performed well at the State and Dehra Forest Board level for the years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.
State Level Awards of the year 2021-22:
First Prize (₹ 1 Lakh): Village Forest Management Committee Lagdu, Dehra Forest Division.
Second prize (₹ 60 thousand): Village Forest Management Committee Chamber, Dalhousie Forest Division.
Third Prize (₹ 40 thousand): Village Forest Management Committee Bhedar, Dehra Forest Division.
State Level Awards of the year 2022-23:
First Prize (₹ 1 Lakh): Village Forest Management Committee Bhedar, Dehra Forest Division.
Second prize (₹ 60 thousand): Village Forest Management Committee Jaini Masroor-2, Dehra Forest Division.
Third Prize (₹ 40 thousand): Village Forest Management Committee Lagdu, Dehra Forest Division.
State Level Awards of the year 2023-24:
First Prize (₹ 1 Lakh): Village Forest Management Committee Jaini Masroor-2, Dehra Forest Division.
Second prize (₹ 60 thousand): Village Forest Management Committee Bhedar, Dehra Forest Division.
Third Prize (₹ 40 thousand): Village Forest Management Committee Lagdu, Dehra Forest Division. In addition, the Chief Minister also honored various committees at the Dehra Forest Board level.
The Chief Minister said that 307 Forest Development Committees in Kangra and Chamba districts have done plan, implementation and monitoring under this project. Emphasizing the importance of conservation of forests, he said that it is directly associated with climate balance, origin of rivers, prevention of soil erosion, protection of biodiversity and livelihood of millions of people. He said that the forest area of Himachal Pradesh is about 15,443 square kilometers, which is about 28 percent of the total geographical area, and the classified forest area is spread over 37,948 square kilometers, which is 68.16 percent of the geographical area.
The Chief Minister admitted that due to increasing population, development works and climate change challenges, there is continuous pressure on forest resources. In order to deal with these challenges, the state government has adopted forest management strategies through the Forest Department continuously and scientific. He announced that the committees who have done good work will be given a total of Rs 22.5 crore directly in their accounts as incentives. Of this, 2.5 crore rupees have already been distributed, and the remaining amount will be transferred to their accounts this year.
The Chief Minister specially called upon the youth to actively participate in this campaign of conservation of nature and forests. He said that it is very important to balance development and environmental protection so that the coming generations can get a safe, prosperous and green Himachal. He informed that under the project, plantation and land rescue work has been done on 13,300 hectares of land in both the districts. 61 thousand saplings have been planted on 8300 hectares of land in Kangra and Chamba districts, while Lantana (an aggressive weed) has been removed from the remaining land. The project will be completed by March 30, 2026.
The Chief Minister expressed confidence that the project has proved that when policy, technology and public cooperation comes together, it is also impossible. Earlier, the Chief Minister also visited the exhibition organized by the Forest Department, in which forest conservation works were displayed.
On this occasion, Himachal Pradesh State Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Bhawani Singh Pathania, MLA Sanjay Ratan, Kamlesh Thakur and Vivek Sharma, HRTC Vice President Ajay Verma, Kangra Central Cooperative Bank President Kuldeep Singh Pathania, Himachal Pradesh Backward Class Finance Development Corporation President Mohan Lal, President of APMC Kangra Nishu Mongra, APMC Kangra President Nishu Mongra, Vul Federation President Surendra Mankotia, Congress leader Manoj Kumar, Congress leader Manoj Kumar, PCCF (Half) Sameer Rastogi, Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa, Superintendent of Police Mayank Chaudhary and other dignitaries were present.
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Web Title-Chief Minister Honored Forest Committees in Kangra-Chamba, Called Upon the Youth to Join the Forest Conservation Campaign