Surat: The Pandesara GIDC in Surat will become the first among the state’s 224 GIDCs to have a Japanese Miyawaki Forest (dense forest). As part of the climate action plan, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), Pandesara Infrastructure Ltd and Hearts at Work Foundation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for developing an urban forest, which will come up on a huge plot of land on the edge of the bay.

As part of the phase 1 activities, around 300 matured trees 6-7 years in age have been planted. The complete plan is to develop a dense forest of 500 rapidly growing trees and 5,000 saplings in the next 30-36 months. The planting of most of the trees and saplings will be completed in the next two weeks itself.

Under this project, the GPCB will install instruments at the Pandesara GIDC to monitor improvement in air quality, increase in oxygen levels and reduction in carbon emissions.

GPCB regional officer, Jignasa Oza, expressed hope that this urban forest at the Pandesara GIDC will become a model to be emulated by rest of the GIDCs in the state. The urban forest has been christened ‘Amrutvan.’ DeshGujarat.