Himachal promoting herb culture: Dhumal

Shimla - Himachal Pradesh has 7.32 percent of the total biodiversity of the country and is promoting cultivation of herbs, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said Saturday.

"The state government is promoting herb culture in a big way so that besides using herbs in ayurvedic medicines the income of farmers could be supplemented," Dhumal said at a regional conference of Arogya Bharti in Una town, 150 km from here.

He said the government had initiated a number of programmes to strengthen the ayurveda system of medicines. "To provide medical treatment to people at their doorstep, the state has given relaxation up to 53 years to ayurvedic doctors for recruitment."

Himachal Pradesh is known to be a grower of herbs and a large number of people depend on the cultivation and collection of herbs for their livelihood.

The government is also promoting the plantation of indigenous species, especially medicinal plants on a large scale, to transform the hill state into a herbal zone.

In 2009, the government launched a herbal plantation campaign under which the farmers across the state were provided over one crore herbal saplings of more than 50 indigenous species like neem, banyan, jamun and peepal free of cost for plantation.