Vijayawada: Stressing the urgent need to protect coastal forests and prevent encroachments, Deputy Chief Minister and minister for forests and environment Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday directed officials to implement the Great Green Wall of Andhra Pradesh and the 50 per cent Green Cover programme on a war footing. He instructed that a comprehensive route map for both flagship initiatives be prepared by the end of January, with clearly defined targets and measurable progress.

Chairing a review meeting with senior forest department officials at his camp office in the Secretariat, Pawan Kalyan said the responsibility of safeguarding plantations along the coastline and preventing encroachments on forest land should involve coastal communities as key stakeholders.

He noted that achieving 50 per cent green cover in the state was a personal goal set by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and called for the projects to be pursued as a prestigious and mission-mode initiative.

Pointing to state’s long coastline of about 974 km, the Deputy Chief Minister said the coalition government was moving in a planned manner to enhance green cover while protecting coastal habitations from cyclones and other natural disasters.

He proposed developing a continuous green belt of five km width along the coast, with mangroves, casuarina and palm species to act as a bio-shield. He pointed out that the forest department has already taken up plantations across 402 km of coastline with a 500-metre width and stressed the need for a detailed study of remaining land under the Coastal Regulation Zone, including forest, government and private holdings.

Pawan Kalyan outlined a three-phase strategy for the Great Green Wall project. The first phase would focus on plantations along the immediate coastal stretch, followed by greening canals, roads and pathways in adjoining areas, and finally promoting tree cultivation in agricultural lands in a farmer-friendly manner. He said funding would be mobilised from schemes such as MISTY, CAMPA, the Green Climate Fund, CSR contributions and MGNREGS.

Calling the 50 per cent Green Cover programme a collective responsibility, he directed district collectors to identify suitable locations and ensure inter-departmental coordination. A special task force involving forests, horticulture, irrigation, tribal welfare, industries, HRD and the Pollution Control Board would monitor weekly progress.

He also revealed that satellite imagery had identified about 10,000 acres of unnotified mangrove forests across the state, which would be formally notified and protected to prevent encroachments. Awareness programmes would be conducted for coastal communities and leaders on the importance of mangroves and the Green Wall initiative. The entire preparatory process, he said, must be completed by the end of January.

Senior officials, including principal secretary Kantilal Dande and PCCF P V Chalapathi Rao, were present at the meeting.