Social Forestry in Bangaru Telangana

The Government has launched a massive people’s movement involving general public and farmers in a big way to increase tree cover outside reserve Forests to improve and protect the Environment and to provide gainful employment. The main components of Social Forestry are the distribution of seedlings, raising of Plan¬tations in community lands, Institutions, and Roadside Avenues.

The main species raised for free distribution and planting in public lands are Neem, Pongamia, Ficus species like Raavi & Marri, Gangaraavi, Usiri (Amla), Seethaphal, Badam, Mango, Teak, Casuraina, Eucalyptus, and others. Forestry operations have been converged with MGNREGS in Reserved Forest areas and outside the Forest.

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority(CAMPA)

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) is constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, GOI, to promote afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensating forest land diverted for non-forest uses.

The CAMPA is being implemented from 2009 onwards in the State and the expenditure incurred for Tel¬angana from 2009-2010 to 2013-2014 is Rs. 233.125 crores. The expenditure incurred during the year 2014-2015 (up to Dec 2014) is Rs. 45.11 crores as against the annual outlay of Rs. 101.95 crores.

Achievements of CAMPA in Telangana

• The total area planted under Net Present Value (NPV) Component is 2695 ha.
• 144 Base Camps, 60 Strike Forces, 57 Check Posts are established and maintained.
• 763 kms of Fire lines created and maintained with 458 Fire watchers every season. 19 Fire watch Tow¬ers to be constructed in Fire risk zone areas.
• 5070 Boundary pillars are proposed for construction around the forest blocks.
• 6 kms of Protection wall is proposed for construction around Urban Forest Blocks.
• 44 Quarters to frontline staff are proposed for construction of which 20 are completed and occupied. An advance operation in 5030 ha is proposed under NPV for planting in 2015 under CAMPA.

Wildlife Bio-Diversity Conservation in Telangana State

The state of Telangana is endowed with rich Flora, Fauna and Eco-Systems. The state has 2939 plant spe¬cies, 365 bird species, 103 mammal species and 28 reptile species in addition to a large number of Invertebrate species. With the objective of preserving the biodiversity, the Government has declared 12 Protected Areas which includes 9 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 3 National Parks covering an area of 5692.48 Sq. Kms which is 19.73% of the forest area of Telangana State. The network of Protected Areas includes important wetlands like Manjeera Wildlife Sanctuary and Siwaram Wildlife Sanctuary which are home for the endangered Marsh Crocodile also called Mugger.

Revenue from Forest:

Forest products in the state include timber, bamboo, firewood and charcoal, beedi leaves and miscellaneous. The income accrued from forestry sector in the Telangana State is Rs.148.28 crore in 2013-14, Rs.82.08 crore in 2014-15 and Rs.71.33 Crore in 2015-16 (up to November 2015).

Table 3.12: Telangana - Revenue Achieved from Forest Produce

(Rs. in crore)

Sl. No.	Item	2014-15	2015-16
1	Timber	15.94	9.64
2	Bamboo	5.30	3.92
3	Firewood & Charcoal	0.19	0.03
4	Other Forest Produce	0.04	0.02
5	Beedi Leaves	0.01	-
6	Teak Plants	1.75	-
7	Cashew Plants	0.07	-
8	Red Sanders	-	-
9	Other Plants	0.01	0.26
10	Thinning’s	-	-
11	Miscellaneous	58.76	57.45
Total		82.08	71.33

Outlook for Agriculture Sector

As a substantial portion of the rural population in the State depends on agriculture sector for their livelihood, it is imperative that we make farming viable and remunerative for those who depend on it. There are two daunting challenges that the sector faces:

(i) unstable growth in agriculture sector, due to historical neglect of agriculture in the past and

(ii) severe drought conditions in the State adversely affecting the agriculture sector. Any policy targeting to end poverty and inclusive growth has to pay more attention towards agriculture sector since population dependent on this sector is vulnerable to both internal and external shocks.

There exist several untapped potentials in the agriculture sector. The major potentials for the agriculture sector in Telangana are:

i) Around 40 percent of its total geographical area of the State is under agriculture and soils of Telangana are suitable for cultivating a wide range of crops including food grains, oil seeds, pulses, fruit crops, etc. There is a scope for diversifying cropping pattern towards high-value crops.

ii) Telangana has a robust network of research institutions consisting of agricultural universities and institutions, which could play a major role in developing technological solutions to bridge the productivity gap in major crops. The presence of national and international institutions engaged in agricultural research such as International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and a number of other ICAR institutes is an added advantage.

iii) The climatic condition of the state is appropriate for the growth of seed industry in the state. The State has already made a dent in seed production in the country as lion’s share of seeds requirement in the country is supplied by the State.

As discussed in previous sections, Government of Telangana recognized the importance of improving the conditions of agriculture for uplifting the living standards of its people in general and farmers in particular. Structural problems associated with agriculture are being addressed through different schemes/programmes. Apart from implementing normal state plan schemes funded exclusively from the State funds, Telangana Government is making use of almost all the Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the Sector. Some of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes are suitably linked to State Schemes for more coordinated efforts. Whereas Government has prepared an action plan for the mitigating adverse impact of droughts such as the provision of input subsidy and sector-specific action plan for agricultural crops, horticulture, animal husbandry and fisheries, are also under implementation.

G.Rajendera Kumar