West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday inaugurated the Neem Banani Programme – an initiative to grow a neem forest – at Gopiballavpur in Jhargram, West Midnapore.
The PC Chandra Group is partnering the state in the project and committed to provide 1 lakh neem saplings.
It has already handed 35,000 neem saplings to the forest department for plantations at Alipurduar, Goal tore, Bagnan, Kalyani, Jharkhali and Kolkata (Eco Park in New Town) in JulyAugust this year. The balance saplings will be handed over to the forest department next year.
The neem forestry project aims to cleanse and rejuvenate the environment by reaping the benefits of the wonder tree whose medicinal and environmental benefits are well documented.