New Delhi, Sep 13 (Bureau) With the approval of the University of Forestry (UOF) Act 2022 by Telangana Legislative Assembly and Council on Tuesday, paving way for upgradation of FCRI ( Forest College and Research Institute) Hyderabad into full-fledged ‘University of Forestry (UoF), the first of its kind in the country. FCRI at Mulugu in Siddipet district was affiliated to Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University. This will be the first-of-its-kind University offering courses in forestry, with headquarters at Mulugu. The “University of Forestry (UOF), Telangana Act, 2022” will be the first of its kind in the country and only Russia and China have forest universities in the world. Third is in India that too in Telangana.
The state government has decided to nurture FCRI as a world class institution for Forestry Education, Research, Extension and Outreach. For this purpose, it is proposed to upgrade FCRI Hyderabad into a full-fledged “University of Forestry (UoF)”, Telangana by enacting a special legislation with the objects of — To produce qualified forestry professionals for conservation and sustainable management of forest resources ; To foster research and to develop appropriate methods for propagation of the plantation crops to meet the demand from industry and domestic needs; To develop Agro-Forestry models suitable for different Agro- ecological situations, apart from conventional forestry operations so as to reduce pressure on natural forests economic upliftment of farming communities and to enhance ecological conditions ;Networking and partnership with similar institutions to synergize learning and to promote action research by providing extension training to the farmers. UOF will produce trained Forestry professionals with the needs of the Forest Department. Once the FCRI is upgraded as University, in addition to the existing, it is proposed to start additional 18 programmes like PhD courses, Diploma & certificate courses in Urban Forestry, Nursery Management, Agro Forestry, Tribal livelihood enhancement, Forest entrepreneurship, Climate smart Forestry & Forest Parks Management.
As a result, the student strength will be scaled up to 726 from the present strength of 366 and the employee’s strength to 210 from the present strength of 118. The Chief Minister of the State will be Chancellor of the University, as the Chancellor will appoint the Vice Chancellor. Growing Greenery Under Telanganaku ‘ Harithaharam’,the Flagship Programme of Telangana Government has been launched to improve green cover in the State to 33 per cent. “The programme is one of the most successful programmes of the Government and received widespread appreciation from all over India and abroad. Under “Telangana Ku Haritha Haram” program so far planted 268.83 crore of seedlings and due to consistent efforts of the government over the last 8 years, green cover in the state has increased by 7.7 per cent and forest cover by 6.85 per cent.