Maharashtra mulls new social forestry policy in non-forest areas to improve greenery-Roundup of the week's news (October 22 - 28, 2012)

Maharashtra mulls new social forestry policy in non-forest areas to improve greenery
 Water Conservation Minister Nitin Raut, who holds charge of social forestry, has appointed a study group headed by former Chief Secretary Arun Bongirwar to formulate a new social forestry policy to increase the tree cover in non-forest areas of Maharashtra.The group comprises 18 members from revenue, forest, agriculture departments, social forestry, pollution control board and the municipal corporations of Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, private enterprises and environment consultants, including Bongirwar.

Goa sets up panels to identify private forest areas where illegal mining is being done
Two committees were set up by the Goa state government Friday for north Goa and south Goa, on directions from the Bombay High Court to identify existing private forests, where illegal mining has been prevalent. Losses from illegal mining in the state have been  pegged at Rs.35,000 by a judicial commission.

Malur farmers use Bangalore sewerage water to grow vegetables
People of the arid Malur are now falling back on sewage water from Bangalore to tackle the perennial water problem in the taluk. Scanty rain and a depleting water table have had an adverse effect on agriculture in Malur. Borewells have dried up and the high fluoride content in the water has been causing many diseases. They are drawing the used water by installing motors to the sewerage line. The farmers feel that the sewerage would help in raising the ground water level.