Candigarh, Jun 17 (IANS): The Chandigarh administration on Thursday rolled out an action plan to plant 175,000 saplings in the city, which is popularly known as ‘City Beautiful, in this fiscal.

An announcement in this regard was made by UT Administrator V.P. Singh Badnore while unveiling the Greening Chandigarh Action Plan-2021-22 prepared by the Department of Forest and Wildlife.

Speaking on the occasion, Badnore said the people of the city, who are traditionally nature lovers, would whole-heartedly support and participate in the endeavour to preserve its ecological wealth.

"Today being World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, it is an appropriate day for the release of the action plan. This day particularly focuses on turning degraded land into healthy land. Restoring degraded land also brings economic resilience and increases food security. It helps the biodiversity to recover," he said.

Manoj Parida, Adviser to the Administrator, said that in recent years, global warming is showing its adverse impacts. Due to this the importance of trees has been understood and acknowledged manifold, he said.

"With the invaluable contribution of the nature-loving residents of Chandigarh and other stakeholders, the city has been able to maintain the balance between nature and technological advancements," he said.

Principal Secretary (Forests) Arun Gupta said that in Chandigarh, the forest conserves a variety of flora and fauna, which form a rich biodiversity besides playing a vital role in environmental stability.

Chief Conservator of Forests Debendra Dalai said that the city boasts to have preserved 46 per cent of its geographical area under forest and green cover.

A short film on the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary was released on the occasion.