The Bio-Diversity and Greening Project of raising forest trees in private farms in the villages abutting the reserve forests with the Government subsidy has proved a success in Sennamapatti Forest Range in the district.
Under a special project, the Forest Department is providing the seedlings of malaivembu (Melia Dubia), teak ((tectona gradis) and casurina to private farm owners to popularise these varieties. The seedlings were raised in the nursery maintained by the Forest Department in Sennampatti itself.
More than 50,000 malaivembu seedlings were distributed to private farms in the five villages of Ammapettai; Nerunjipettai; Ariyakavundanur; Boothapadi and Kannapalli in Sennampatti range in 2013-14. Each village was allotted 10,000 seedlings each.
During the current year, 22,500 seedlings were distributed and they were raised in the private farms in the four villages of Kumarayanur, Velli Tiruppur, Iluppur and Sennampalli.
Following the success of this project in the first two years, the department has decided to implement the same in four more villages during the next year. Kurichi, Kesarimangalam, Kaadappanallur and Manikampalayam are the villages identified for the next year’s project, according to the Forest Department sources.
The farms are encouraged to take advantage of the drip irrigation system for raising these trees.
Incentive in the form of subsidy is given to the farmers at the end of third year of plantation. Subsidy will be distributed to the farmers of the villages where this scheme was introduced in 2013-14, next year.
M. Nagarajan, District Forest Officer, Erode, and V. Zakkariya, Forest Range Officer, Sennampatti, range inspected the plantations recently.
The trees raised in private farms were found in good condition and the forest personnel regularly inspected them, the sources say.
