(IN): Men in olive set out on green mission

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Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080820/jsp/northeast/story_9710919.jsp

 

Men in olive set out on green mission

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Kokrajhar

 

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*Aug. 19:* Nearly 270 ex-army men brought out their olive green uniforms

last week and headed for their new combat zone — the Ripu-Chirang reserve

forest in the Bodoland Territorial Council — but with spades, not guns.

 

After having failed to mobilise a mass movement for afforestation, the state

government and BTC decided to rope in ex-servicemen instead.

 

The Territorial Army Eco-Task Force, comprising former armymen, will aid the

government's afforestation project, which the local administration had for

long been trying to initiate with the help of villagers living on the fringe

of the forests.

 

Thirty-nine per cent of BTC's area, some 3,53,994.90 hectares, comprises

forest land located along the international border with Bhutan.

 

" We are all aware of the deforestation that has taken place. Therefore, the

state government and BTC have raised a territorial eco-battalion in this

area. The 135 infantry battalion of the Territorial Army, Assam regiment,

comprising ex-armymen from the region, was raised to revitalise Ripu-Chirang

reserve forest, " said Col Rakesh Mehta, the commanding officer of 135

battalion of the Territorial Army.

 

The battalion was " inaugurated " at Digli under Ripu-Chirang reserve forest

in Kokrajhar last Thursday.

 

Nearly 270 retired army personnel in the regiment will work on the

afforestation plan for the next five years.

 

The project is also part of an initiative called the Ecological Task Forces

Scheme taken up by the ministry of defence to involve ex-servicemen in

afforestation, soil conservation and water resource management techniques.

 

The scheme also serves as a mechanism to rehabilitate the ex-servicemen and

generate employment for retired army personnel, mainly in the rural areas.

 

Mehta said the afforestation project taken up by the Territorial Army

Eco-Task Force in BTC would help restore the green cover in 450 hectares of

the reserve forest.

 

The BTC deputy chief, Kampha Borgoyary, who is in-charge of the forest

department, said it was the biggest initiative at afforestation ever taken

up by the government.

 

" We have tried to involve the masses in the protection and conservation of

forest but it was not very successful. Instead of trying to help the

government protect the forests, there are people who are destroying the

green cover. So the government realised that unless a battalion from the

defence is involved, the project will not be successful, " Borgoyary added.

 

He also assured the army of all help to evict encroachers from the forest.

 

 

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