Dehradun, May 15 -- The Uttarakhand forest department has introduced new initiatives, including the use of satellite imagery and drones, to enhance transparency in its plantation efforts and accurately assess their success, an official said on Wednesday. "We have introduced new initiatives such as satellite imagery to assess the success of plantation drives. Until now, we used to physically visit sites to count the number of trees planted. There are several satellites covering Uttarakhand, providing data at various resolutions. Using this satellite data, we can monitor plantations and activities like soil and moisture conservation to evaluate their impact. This is the first time such a technology-driven system is being used for plantation monitoring," said Rahul, chief conservator of forests....