People in Taplejung district have been attracted to the expansion of private forest lured by handsome incomes, according to the Division Forest Office. Availability of grants in a feasible way has also helped, the office said. The Office has provided grants to eight farmers for the expansion of private forest in the current fiscal year, 2021/22. The farmers have got Rs 100,000 in grant each.

Those farmers who have got the grants are hard worker and they got them for the expansion and care of private forest, said Chief District Officer Mahesh Kumar Pokharel. There are many indicators for the selection of recipients so as to make the private forestry programme effective, he said. For the selection of recipients, a focal team led by chief of the Division Forest Office has been formed. Representatives of the team are from the local administration, the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council.

The Division Forest Office has managed nursery in six places (Division Forest Office, Pathibhara Sub Division Office, Tokme, Tellok, Dovan, Santhakra and Tiringe) in the district. The nurseries have 100,000 saplings of medicinal herbs, 150,000 annual saplings of various trees and 30,000 multiannual tree saplings, said the forest office.