RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Aug.23: The idea of Chief Minister Hemant Soren to make the Jharkhand assembly the first in the country to become self-sufficient in generating its own resources by producing fruits and selling them seems to get converted into reality soon.
It was experienced today after Assembly Speaker Rabindranath Mahto planted saplings of fruit plants and set the ball rolling for plantation in the assembly premises spread in over a 50-acre area.
The state forest environment and climate change department has provided saplings for planting which started at 1pm and on the day as many as 100 saplings were planted.
DFO (social forestry) M.P.Dev informed this saying there is a plan to plant as many as 650 saplings on the premises. Outside the assembly premises, as many as 3000 saplings have already been planted and there is a plan to plant 15000 more.
The state forest department launched this year’s Van Mahotsav on July 13 and set a target of planting 1.67 crore saplings. In Ranchi, over a lakh saplings will be planted. At the launch ceremony, Soren had directed the forest department to roll out plantation drives on unused and vacant government land to boost the state’s green lungs and conserve local ecology.
On July 19, the chief minister mooted the idea of using the sprawling Jharkhand Assembly premises to grow an orchard of fruit-bearing trees, urging officials to think out of the box to promote greenery in Ranchi.
Speaking on the occasion of the state’s 72nd Van Mahotsav on the premises, Hemant suggested the Assembly Speaker consider developing the area as an orchard. He was of the opinion that the assembly can generate its own resources just by selling fruits produced in the orchard and by doing this innovative farming activity on the campus, the state assembly could be the first assembly in the country to become self-sufficient in generating its own resources.
EoM
