Bhubaneswar: The state government on Saturday decided to take stern action against the encroachers of forest land in the capital city in the first phase in its effort to embark on a massive plantation programme to make the city eco-friendly under the Urban Tree Plantation Initiative. It also imposed restrictions on felling of trees and cutting of branches in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation limits to ensure the required green cover. Cutting of trees in Bhubaneswar for any reasons irrespective of Government or private areas will be taken very seriously. Prior permission of the City DFO is mandatory for felling trees or cutting branches, chief secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik told reporters after presiding over a state-level meeting at the State Secretariat here. He said that besides Bhubaneswar, the Urban Tree Plantation Programme would be extended to seven other major cities including Cuttack, Baripada, Balasore, Berhampur, Angul, Sambalpur and Balangir. According to official sources, it has been decided to plant an estimated 7.50 lakh saplings in all the eight cities during the current year with an investment of Rs 12 crore. In Bhubaneswar, while over 3.48 lakh saplings were planted over 144 sites, during 2010-11, the target for 2011-12 has been fixed at 3.50 lakh saplings. So far Rs 6.82 crore has been provided to all the targeted cities to take up plantation with the onset of monsoon. It has also been decided that the encroached forest areas in and around the city will be demarcated and taken possession of by the government to undertake plantation with green fencing. The BMC has been advised to involve people in plantation of their backyards and front-yards as per their choice of species.