Plantation along Mahanadi river from next year in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, November 7, 2017: Underlining focus on
protecting and nurturing Mahanadi river for the future, the Odisha Government
has decided to launch a massive plantation drive along the length and breadth
of the river.

Mahanadi runs around 500km in the State. The initiative is to
help retain water in the riverbed and recharge groundwater.

More than 2 crore trees will be planted on a mission mode
with an objective of recharging and revitalising the ground water reserve along
Mahanadi banks in 2018-19 as a part of Mission Green Mahanadi, Chief Minister
Naveen Patanik said officials in a meeting at the State Secretariat on Tuesday.

Plantation would be done over 75,760 hectares of Government
land and 47,470 hectares of private land within 1 km radius of the banks on
both sides.

The trees planted would primarily be fruit-bearing trees like
mango, jack fruit, jamun etc. which will have multiple benefits from ground
water harvesting, preventing soil erosion along the banks and ensuring income
and livelihood opportunities for the local communities.

Patnaik said similar initiatives will be undertaken on Ib and
Tel rivers and subsequently extended to all major rivers in the state.

“I called upon all concerned for proper execution of the
drive which will conserve environment and be a milestone in ensuring
sustainable natural resources for our future generations. We are committed to a
Green Odisha for all times to come,” said Patnaik.

Forests and Environment Minister Bijayashree Routray,
department Secretary Suresh Mohapatra and Development Commissioner R
Balkrishnan attended the meeting.