Balbir Singh Seechewal: Planting saplings key to mitigating climate change

Moga, July 3

A foundation has taken an initiative to create a mini-forest at Karyal village in the district, as part of its plantation drive across the state between July 1 and 17. It will plant 1 lakh saplings in this period.

Environmentalist and Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal inaugurated the plantation drive at Karyal village on Saturday.

Seechewal said, “Trees bind the soil and provide a clean environment. To fight climate change and restore our ecology, we need to carry out more such plantation drives across the state.”

In recent years, Seechewal has worked on cleaning the Kali Bein rivulet in Sultanpur Lodhi and spearheaded a drive to clean rivers in the state.

The Round Glass Foundation is planting 1 lakh trees to create 75 mini-forests in 75 villages of the state. Many of these trees are native to the state and will help in rejuvenating and restoring the local biodiversity.

“Reforestation activities not only help in mitigating climate change, but they also help in regulating water cycle, preventing soil erosion and restoring wildlife habitat,” Seechewal said.

“The foundation will also hold plantation drives in Sangrur, Faridkot and Mohali districts,” said Vishal Chawla, an activist with the foundation.

“The goal is to plant one billion trees in Punjab in the coming years to help restore its forest cover. Already, seven lakh trees have been planted under the ‘Plant for Punjab’ initiative,” he added.

The foundation mobilises panchayats, local communities, youth clubs and eco-clubs to introduce responsible and sustainable practices for restoring Punjab’s green cover. Under this initiative, it plants peelu, roheda, desi beri and reru, among other saplings.

‘Operation Green’ in Bathinda

• The Forest Department has fixed a target to plant over 3 lakh saplings this year in Bathinda district
• So far, more than 66,000 saplings have been planted along roads in rural areas
• In all, 87,663 plants will be grown under the Compensatory Afforestation Scheme
• Around 1.37 lakh trees will be grown under the NPV (Net Present Value) method in forestry
• In all, 25 types of saplings such as jamun, drek, neem, kikar, acasia and shisham are being planted