It may come as something of a surprise, but there is actually some money to be made by growing trees. Landless - and jobless
- farmers can earn upto Rs. 10,000 a year by looking after tree saplings under a new social scheme launched by the forestry department. Under the scheme,
villagers plant fruit bearing trees, trees with medicinal value (such as neem), mahogany and teakwood.
Govt. support comes in the form of digging new wells to provide water for the saplings.
Besides providing employment to the local people, villagers can also earn money by selling fruits from the fruit bearing trees (when they mature). But - in the interim - the fruit trees have to be protected from grazing cattle and later guarded against miscreants.
There were initial doubts about the feasability of this scheme. What has given impetus to this scheme is the large number of villagers who have taken part in the tree plantation drive. Perhaps, this is because the scheme has caught the imagination of the people. The scheme has especially come as a boon to migrant workers who could not find work. A welcome development has been the (enthusiastic) support provided by the local administration.
The unique feature of the scheme is that two distinct and distinctive aspects of development - social development and forestry - have been combined into one . It is hoped that this scheme serves as a model for further schemes of this kind in the state. Village heads are working overtime to get the scheme sanctioned for their village; and are even arranging seeds and saplings for the villagers. Village to village interaction (at the local level) is also helping to promote and to popularize this scheme.
The only impediment is that payments, when due, should not be delayed (as often happened earlier). If the disbursal of timely payments can be guaranteed, the success of this scheme is also assured.