Dehradun, Oct 22 (PTI) The Centre on Thursday agreed in-principle to sanction an additional fund of Rs 262.49 crore to Uttarakhand to reduce man-animal conflict, minimise forest fires and generate employment for migrants who returned to the state following the COVID-19 pandemic.

A proposal in this regard was submitted by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to Union Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar, who agreed in-principle to sanction it, an official release here quoted Rawat as saying.  

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Around 10,000 migrants out of a total of nearly 10 lakh who returned to their homes in Uttarakhand, following the COVID-19 pandemic are to be given employment under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA). 

The additional funds are required also for minimising man-animal conflict and effectively controlling forest fires, it said.                     The chief minister also sought re-inclusion of the construction of wildlife rescue centres among forest activities as they have to be built at a number of places in the state to prevent monkeys, wild boars and nilgais (blue bull) from destroying standing crops, the release said.

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)