Karnatakawillgrow bambooon 57,000 hectares in the state in the next two years, saidforest minister Umesh V Katti.
He was speaking after launching a project of planting 10 lakhsaplingsof variousfruit-bearing trees, through the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project and forest department in Venur region of Kundapur division atErmodi forest area, in Belthangady taluk.
He said that programmes to increase forest cover, and planting saplings of fruit-bearing trees, will help in reducing instances of man-animal conflict.
Under the denotification programme, which was undecided for the past several years, the forest department has handed over 6.6 lakh hectares of deemed forest to the revenue department. Farmers in those taluks may cultivate the land, based on the directions of bagair hukum committees. Meanwhile, 3.3 lakh hectares of land has been handed over to the forest department, and thereby the forest cover has been increased from 42 lakh hectares to 45 lakh hectares in the state.