State to plant record 50 lakh trees on July 7

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced that a record 50 lakh saplings will be planted in various parts of the state on July 7 as part of the observance of Tree Plantation Day.
He made the announcement while inaugurating the seven-day-long state-level ‘Bana Mahotsav’ at Unit II Government High School on Saturday here. The programme was organised by forest and environment department.
He said people from all walks of life will take part in the plantation drive.
Stating that trees are the biggest natural gift to humans, Naveen asked the school children to plant one sapling each and take care of it.
“Proactive steps have been taken by the government for strengthening the plantation programmes in the state. Forest cover has increased by three per cent in the last five years. At present, around 30 per cent of the total land area in the state is under forest cover,” he said.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister felicitated two Bana Surakshya Samitis of Balangir and Nabarangpur with Biju Patnaik Forest Protection Award for their contribution in the field of forest conservation. He also planted a neem sapling as mark of his participation in the programme.
Forest and environment minister Bijayshree Routray, tourism minister Ashok Chandra Panda, MLAs Priyadarshi Mishra and Bijay Mohanty and BMC mayor Ananta Narayan Jena were present.
Meanwhile, Governor S C Jamir along with his wife planted saplings on the Raj Bhavan premises this morning.