Manesar, Aug 7 (IANS) Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Friday joined Haryana’s 77th Van Mahotsav celebrations at Manesar and praised the state for working on the Centre’s recommendations to protect the Aravallis and prevent air pollution.
Yadav planted a sapling on the occasion and said that a recent review had shown good progress in the state on pollution control measures like smart traffic management and industrial emission monitoring, said an official statement
The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change said that he had reviewed the air quality situation in Haryana a few days ago and was happy to note that the state government has taken cognisance of his recommendations and worked to carry them forward.
The recommendations called for housing societies to have solid waste management rules in place, industries to install Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) and Air Pollution Control Devices (APCDs), implementation of smart traffic management and undertaking of greening activities.
Yadav stressed the importance of grasslands and woodlands for soil conservation and maintaining the water table and added that good work has been done in the state in this direction as well.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said that Van Mahotsav is not merely a programme for planting saplings but an opportunity to repay our debt to nature.
He said that while the world today talks of environmental protection, India accorded nature the status of worship thousands of years ago.
Saini said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the guiding mantra of planting ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’, under which a target of 1.4 crore trees has been set for the state this year, with the participation of different stakeholders.
He said it is the collective responsibility of all to make the Aravallis green again.
The Chief Minister said the major highlight of this year’s celebrations was that District-Level Van Mahotsav programs were simultaneously organized across all the districts of Haryana.
The events were graced by State Ministers, Members of Parliament, Members of the Legislative Assembly, Chairpersons of Boards and Corporations, Deputy Commissioners and other public representatives of the respective districts, he added.
Dignitaries present on the dais included State Minister for Environment and Forests Rao Narbir Singh, public representatives and senior officials of the state government.
–IANS
rch/dan
