Shimla, July 17 -- Amid the cutting down of apple orchards grown on forest land, the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has pledged to bring 1,820 hectares of land under green cover this year.

Out of this, the department will directly undertake plantation on 1,000 hectares of land, while an additional 600 hectares will be covered under the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana. The state-level plantation drive is set to commence soon with the Van Mahotsav, aiming to rejuvenate barren lands across the state.

Alongside this, the JICA Forestry Project has set a separate target of planting trees over 220 hectares. This will be achieved through both departmental efforts and community participation. Notably, last year, the JICA project successfu...