Karnataka Forest department launches two web portals for dissemination of information
16 Oct, 2012The Karnataka State government launched two new web portals to provide a platform to all concerned to know about the efforts of the Karnataka Forest department for environmental conservation. The portals will provide information on afforestation projects and expenditures incurred by Karnataka to protect the environment in the State. The two portals are:-
1. e-Green watch portal: This website would provide all the details as per the Forest Conservation Act (FC). The access to the portal is available from the CAMPA website. It would carry detailed information like-
- The proposals cleared under the Act will be placed in public domain in tune with obligations as per the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
- The expenditures incurred from the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) fund along with the estimated costs, photographs and geo-locations of work.
- There are 1,273 plantation works and 4,352 other projects, which include the construction of boundary pillars, watch towers, etc; man-animal conflict management works such as solar fences, elephant-proof trenches, cattle-proof trenches, infrastructure development works, etc.
2. Bhuvan-Karnataka: It is based on the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) platform of Bhuvan and shall provide information about the mining activities in the forest region of the State. It can be accessed from Bhuvan webs provide information about:-
- Information relevant to the forest region with the uploading of details such as photos, geo-location and estimates in a simple and user-friendly manner.
- It would help in monitoring the forest assets and keep a check on the mining leases in the forest region.
The web portals were inaugurated by the Minister for Forests and Ecology, C P Yogeeshwara. The Karnataka Forest department is working on a proposal to ensure that farmers need not approach the Forest department for felling certain trees which are exempted under the rules and regulations. It is planned to link the tree felling permission to Bhoomi and so that the felling permission can be accessed online. A new toll-free number has been launched for use by all to secure information on the Forest department activities, fire occurrences, wildlife offence or register their complaints. The IVRS number 1800-425-1314 shall be available for citizens to lodge their complaints or seek information.