Telangana forest cover increased by 7.70 per cent, says forest minister

HYDERABAD: Green cover in the state has increased by 7.70 per cent from 2015, when the Haritha Haram programme was launched, to 2021, forest minister A. Indrakaran Reddy told the Assembly on Friday.

In reply to a question, he said that the India State of Forest Reports (ISFR) had reported an increase in the green cover. He said 14,864 nurseries were set up in the state and 30.02 crore saplings were planted since 2015. In addition, ₹49.115 crores had been collected under the Green Funds in the form of donations which were spent on the Haritha Haram programme.

The government aimed to establish 109 urban forest parks of which 73 parks had been made available to the public. Further, the government had prioritised the development of tribals by providing livelihood to them and forest produce worth ₹38.44 crore was collected from the tribals, said the minister.