Environment minister Jairam Ramesh will hold the first public meeting tomorrow in Guwahati to discuss the proposed Rs 44,000 crore Green Mission which aims at enhancing forest cover in the country.

The ministry has commissioned Ahmedabad-based Centre for Environment Education (CEE) to organise the meetings to be held in seven locations including Guwahati.

Ramesh will also chair the deliberations to be held in Visakhapatnam on June 15 and Pune on June 19.

The fourth meeting will be held in Deharadun (June 22), followed by Bhopal (June 30), Jaipur (July 2) and Mysore (July 5).

The consultation is the part of a series of nation-wide public meetings in keeping with the environment minister's decision to discuss the Green Mission with NGOs and concerned stakeholders before finalising its blueprint, meant to combat climate change.

This is the the first mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) launched by prime minister Manmohan Singh last year to be discussed threadbare by the public and non-governmental organisations.

Ramesh had adopted a similar approach of holding discussions earlier on controversial Bt brinjal following divergent views from scientists and farmers on the commercial cultivation of the GM-tweaked vegetable. The government had imposed a moratorium on its release till the health safety concerns are met.

"We hope that by the end of August we would be in a position to have a final design of the Green Mission," Ramesh had said recently.

The draft emphasised a holistic approach to afforestation with an aim to focus just not on plantation and trees, but also on restoring diverse ecosystems.

Regarding funding for the mission, Ramesh has pinned hopes on the Planning Commission besides development agencies.

He also plans to seek the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) funds.

Of total eight missions under the NAPCC, the government has already launched Solar, Energy Efficient and Water Mission.