Accelerating the pace of its achievement in the field of environment protection in the five years, the Uttar Pradesh government is engaged in massive tree plantation to check pollution and improve public health.
To increase the greenery, those plants are going to be planted more which, along with giving life, provide healthy medicines with their fruits and flowers. The scope of plants with medicinal properties is not limited only to the courtyard, garden, forest, but for this the government is also developing over 200 roads as Rs herbal routes’.
Giving above information here on Friday, an official spokesman of the government said that the main objective of making herbal routes was to improve immunity of the people as well as to keep the environment clean and healthy. He said no separate allocation had been made for the development of herbal routes, and this work of public interest and health promotion was being done from the available resources.
Due to the presence of various medicinal trees on the herbal routes, air pollution will be reduced, and the common man will also get medicine.
The plants selected by the Public Works Department for the herbal route include masparni, saptaparni, jatropha (ratanjot), jal neem, chhota neem, drumstick, mentha, lemon grass, bhringraj, mui, amla, brahmi, tulsi, anantmool, guarpatha, ashwagandha, turmeric etc. The medicinal importance of all these plants is well known.
In these medicinal plants, along with the PWD the government also has a lot of emphasis on drumsticks. The flowers, fruits and leaves of drumstick are treasures of nutrients that provide health. Along with being an immunity booster, it is like a sanjeevani for the treatment of many serious diseases. Due to these qualities, the drumstick is also called a miracle plant.
Along with the herbal route, the government is also implementing schemes like Navagraha Vatika, Nakshatra Vatika, Panchavati, Gangavan, Amritvan.
The Yogi Adityanath government, which made a record plantation in five years, has now made preparations to create a new record. In his first term, more than 100 crore saplings were planted to increase greenery in the state. There is also a positive result of this. According to the State of Forest Report 2021, 9.23 per cent of the total geographical area of Uttar Pradesh has forest cover. In 2013 the forest cover was 8.82 per cent. The government has set a target to increase this area to 15 per cent by 2030. To fulfill the target, the government will plant 175 crore saplings in the next five years. Under this, preparations have been made to plant 35 crore saplings this year.
Apart from the Forest department, 26 other departments will participate in the grand plantation campaign. The target of each department is already set. The highest target of planting 12.60 crore and 12.32 crore saplings is of Forest and Rural Development departments respectively. Apart from this, the target of Agriculture and Horticulture departments is 2.35 crore and 1.55 crore saplings respectively.
In the plantation drive preference will be given to planting saplings of banyan, peepal, pakad, neem, bell, amla, mango, jackfruit kaitha, jamun, sharifa, gooseberry, lemon, fig, sycamore, mahua, mulberry, jungle jalebi, guava, pomegranate, tamarind, plum and kinnow.
