Our collective duty to keep the environment clean: Haryana CM

Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday urged the people to plant a tree as a step towards environmental conservation and green future on the occasion of World Environment Day.

While addressing the gathering in Charkhi Dadri, the chief minister urged the state’s residents to take a pledge to stop using plastic with an aim of making the state plastic -free.

He launched the second phase of the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign’, and the green Aravalli action plan, and the Miyawaki Plantation Campaign. He also flagged -off five electric buses in a push towards making state pollution free.

 “As we honour the mother, who gives us birth, we also show the same honour to mother earth. The green Aravalli action plan, which was kicked-off with an aim to rejuvenate and green the Aravalli region, will include five districts of Haryana out of 29 districts across the country,” the CM added. The chief minister said that plastic pollution is causing significant harm to the environment, and its effects will pose serious risks to future generations. “It is our collective responsibility to keep the environment clean. The state government is focusing on creating a plastic-free natural environment and is implementing various measures to eliminate plastic pollution. The state government had already imposed a ban on single-use plastic.  Plastic bags below 120 microns have also been prohibited as part of the broader strategy to reduce plastic waste,” he added.

Saini said that the state government is committed in its ‘Sankalp Patra’ to provide 375 electric buses across 11 municipal corporations across the state. “Nearly 45 electric buses have already been deployed under the city bus service across nine cities. Around 450 more electric buses will be procured under the Pradhan Mantri E-Bus Seva Yojana by 2026 and will be integrated into the roadways fleet. These buses will be allocated to cities including Gurugram, Faridabad, Panipat, Yamuna Nagar, Rohtak and Hisar,” he added. He further said that as many as 5,250 eco clubs have been established across all districts in Haryana. “We are planning to create Oxyvan, green spaces ranging from five to 100 acres, at district headquarters across the state. An Oxyvan was successfully established in Karnal last year, and work is currently underway in Panchkula,” he added.

The CM said that the government aims to have around 30% of the roadways fleet composed of electric buses. This initiative will significantly reduce diesel consumption and curb air pollution.