Development and infrastructure creation is often inversely proportional to greenery especially dense forests. But, forest department in Katni, Madhya Pradesh has belied this hypothesis by creating 1500-hectare dense forest in lieu of forest land diversion. It has also converted 300 acres vacant revenue land into a thick forest within last 6 years with 1,20,000 trees of 15-20 feet height.
Village forest committees of the district hugely contributed to this drive. They not only planted saplings, but nurtured them till they became trees. They are also safeguarding the old trees.
Speaking exclusively to Indian Masterminds, 2016-batch IFS officer and District Forest Officer (DFO), Katni, Mr. Gaurav Sharma said that forest department is also helping people by making them available forest produce like dry firewood, tendu leaves, mahua, pickle etc.People are actually earning dividend of creating and protecting forests.The department is also doing precious teak plantation besides medicinal and herbs plantations.
FOREST LAND DIVERSION
Whenever forest land is acquired by the government for an infrastructure project, vacant revenue land is returned to the forest department. The forest department has to do afforestation to compensate for the lost forest. A fund has been created by state governments under ‘Compensatory Afforestation Scheme’ called CAMPA Fund. Net value of the lost forest is calculated according to its density, to be contributed to the Campa fund. Denser the forest, the higher its net present value is. Besides, funds are also given for plantation.
The forest department however, does not get the revenue land for linear infrastructure like road, railway track and electric line in the forest. Instead it has to do plantation only in nearby areas where forest has been degraded.
Katni had a huge vacant revenue land bank, which was given to the forest department in lieu of a number of developmental projects. Katni also has a history of compensatory afforestation for land diversion. In last 20 years, Katni has grown a big forest area, on arid vacant land. “Now, we have beautiful forests in Katni because of active afforestration and village forest committees,” Mr Sharma told Indian Masterminds.
Village Forest Committees in Katni are live example of joint forest management by government and the public. Majhganwa hills which only had bushes till some time ago, now boasts of thousands of trees and plants of different species.
