Hyderabad, November 16: For improving the conditions in various zoos in the state, the government has decided to constitute the Zoo Authority of Andhra Pradesh which will be responsible for all activities in the zoos of the state. A special director will be appointed to improve the conditions in the zoos and to provide more facilities for animals, visitors and staff. The Forests department will also facilitate animal exchange programmes between different zoos withing and outside the state.
Speaking to reporters here today, Forests minister P Ramachandra Reddy said that the state government will soon fill up 600 posts including 83 Forest Range Officers in the State to strengthen the Forests department. It has been decided to decrease the forest beat/range area for the Forests officers. “Compared to other states, the forest area allotted to each forest officer in Andhra Pradesh is more than other states. Hence, we have decided to decrease the area of supervision and also prepared a proposal for creation of 4,000 posts including officers and other staff. The proposal is under consideration of the Finance department,” Reddy said.
The minister also said that the state has only 26.3 per cent of forest coverage as against the Central government norms of having at least 33 per cent of land under forest cover.
To increase the forest cover, the State has initiated various measures including plantation of saplings on saturation basis in all villages.
“We are planning to plant about 50,000 saplings in every gram panchayat over the next three years. Further, awareness will be created among students to plant trees in the districts,” he said. The Forests department took up tree plantation at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University of Hyderabad (JNTU-H) today in this regard.
The government has already established nearly 3,000 nurseries to supply saplings for such programmes.
The government also sanctioned 128 posts to Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) as part of its efforts to strengthen it for effective pollution control, particularly in industries coming up on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The new posts were sanctioned for effective implementation of the guidelines issued by the Centre.
–Agencies