MISHTI Project To Add 700 Hectares of Mangroves In AP: Pawan Kalyan

On the occasion of International Day for the conservation of the mangrove ecosystem, Pawan Kalyan held a meeting with forest department officials at the department head office (Aranya Bhavan) here on Friday to discuss the ways to protect and develop mangroves.

He said the state has mangroves spread 100 sq km on government lands and he would recommend the Chief Minister to covert that land into forest land. According to the forest department data, AP has mangroves spread across 405 sq. km of coastal land and another 100 sq. km of government revenue lands. Pawan Kalyan also complained that the previous YSRC government destroyed about 110 hectares of Koringa mangroves near Kakinada and handed over the land to the housing department. He said he would take this issue to the notice of the Chief Minister and appropriate action would be taken.

The Deputy CM highlighted the role of mangroves in protecting coastal areas from natural calamities like cyclones and tsunamis and asked the department officials to establish a special mangrove cell. He warned that legal action would be taken against those who destroy mangroves in the State. He suggested the forest department get CSR funds and collaborate with NGOs to improve mangrove cover. He directed the officials to take the help of the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation in increasing the mangrove cover.

Further, discussing the elephant menace in the Chittoor and Parvatipuram districts, where elephants are straying into agriculture fields and human habitats and destroying fields and killing humans, Pawan Kalyan assured the forest department officials to discuss the issue with the neighbouring Karnataka state forest department officials and bring trained Kumki elephants to prevent Jumbo attacks in the state.