Shimla: Two probationary Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers of the 2024 batch, Abhishek Parihar and Ajay Singh Meena, visited the Project Management Unit in Shimla on Thursday to gain insights into the JICA Forestry Project being implemented in Himachal Pradesh.
Project Director Shrestha Nand Sharma briefed the officers on key initiatives and ongoing activities of the Forest Department under the project. He highlighted efforts related to plantation, livelihood improvement, and income-generation activities. Director of the Herbal Cell, Dr. S.K. Kapta, also shared information on biodiversity conservation.
The Project Director stated that the primary objective of the JICA Forestry Project is to enhance ecosystem services in forest areas to support sustainable socio-economic development in Himachal Pradesh. The project is being implemented across seven districts—Kinnaur, Shimla, Bilaspur, Mandi, Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, and Kangra—covering nine forest circles, 22 forest divisions, and 72 forest ranges.
He further informed that livelihood enhancement plans have been prepared for 460 Gram Forest Development Committees and 920 Self-Help Groups under the project. To increase green cover, plantation work has been carried out on about 8,300 hectares of land so far. Additional plantations are also being undertaken under the Chief Minister Green Expansion Scheme and the Rajiv Gandhi Forest Augmentation Scheme.
During the visit, Programme Managers Vinod Sharma, Reena Sharma, Dr. Kaushalya Kapoor, Disha Gautam, and Herbal Cell Marketing Manager Dr. Rajesh Chauhan gave detailed presentations on their respective project components. The visiting IFS officers, who belong to Rajasthan, appreciated the scope and impact of the project.
