From Our Correspondent
TURA, Sep 1: The second installment of the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) under the PES Pilot Project for Ganol Catchment was presented to the Village PES Committees (VPCs) by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma at Dakopgre, Tura on Friday.
It may be mentioned that the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) Pilot Project for restoration of the Ganol catchment was launched by the chief minister in April, 2022.
The second installment amounting to Rs.64.82 lakhs was distributed to 18 Village PES Committees (VPCs) which in turn will be disbursed to 103 community members through the VPCs.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that the project is an ambitious venture of the present Meghalaya government and that it may be the first ever such scheme in the entire nation to be first implemented.
He further informed that initially communities were hesitant to take up PES but as people witnessed changes after the projects implementation they started embracing the project.
Communities who owned large reserves have shown their keenness to join the project and last year alone 27,000 hacters were included in the project and 21 crores were distributed to different communities for eco-restoration purposes he stated.
“The government is targeting to distribute 59 crores in the future and if the response is overwhelmingly good the targeted amount will be increased. It is learnt that owing to the feasibility of the project other states have expressed eagerness to implement similar ventures”.
Delving on the ancient practice of preserving sacred forests and forest reserves by the communities of the state, Sangma said that since the communities in Meghalaya practiced forest conservation since time immemorial without any government aid they are the true architects of the project he said.
Through the project the government aims at addressing various ecological issues directly linked to livelihood generation and by doing so hopes to up lift the standard of living in the state the chief minister added.
During the programmme, a book on Measurement, Reporting & Verification Protocol authored by Dr. S Ashutosh was also released by the chief minister.
He thanked the communities involved in the venture stating that without their participation the project would not have become successful.
Among others who addressed the gathering were West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner, Jagdish Chelani, Retd. IFS, Dr S Ashutish and Deputy Project Director, MBMA, CLLMP, James Kharkongor.