The discussions to this effect were held during a meeting on Saturday in Aurangabad where all senior officers from the Forest department participated. The day-long meeting primarily discussed about improving forest cover in the state.
“The districts like Osmanabad, Beed, Parbhani and Latur have large stretches of barren land, which is technically with forest department but there is no green cover. The eco-battalion will be given these districts in the first phase for improvement of green cover,” he said.
Eco-battalion concept was introduced during the rule of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and successfully launched in Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Each battalion is of 108 personnel.
When asked about the reasons behind choosing ex-Army personnel, Mungantiwar said these people are already trained to carry out major works with high discipline, efficiency and speed, he said.
(Sourced from agencies, Feature image courtesy:www.dnaindia.com)
