Jharkhand CM calls upon to plant at least one tree in house 

Ranchi, August 7: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday called on the people of the state to plant at least one tree to compensate for the damage being done to the environment.

Soren was speaking at the 75th Van Mahotsav in Ranchi’s Biodiversity Park.

“We are moving forward with two types of lifestyles — ‘vikashshil’ (progressive) and ‘vinashshil’ (destructive). We are creating forests of concrete by removing natural forests. Nature warns from time to time of the imbalance with drought, flood and other disasters. Now, we have to decide how to compensate for the environmental loss,” Soren said.

“Things would not change in a day. We have to make continuous efforts. Around 11 years back, I had appealed to replace the system of giving bouquets to guests with saplings at government functions. It has become a practice now. I request every citizen to plant at least one tree, which will help compensate for the environmental loss caused to some extent,” he added.

“It is important that we become a part of the campaign to plant as many trees as possible for the sake of environmental protection and take a pledge to save trees. With the cooperation and participation of all, we can protect the natural system and keep human life safe,” added Soren.

The Forest Department has set a target to plant around 2.25 crore saplings across the state this year.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Sanjay Srivastava said efforts were also being made to increase forest cover in urban areas.

“Around 80,000 saplings were planted only in Ranchi city last year. We are also developing ‘Nagar Van’ in 30 places in the state,” he said

He told the people that if they build a house, then before that, they must plant a tree there. If every person resolves to plant and save trees, then we will definitely be able to protect the environment.

The Chief Minister said that today due to natural imbalance and interference with the environment, we are facing many natural disasters like floods and droughts. Agriculture is being affected due to the change in the weather cycle. In such a situation, there is a need for all of us to move forward in the direction of minimizing the damage to the natural system. For this, it is necessary to plant as many trees as possible, so that even a little bit of the damage that has been done to the natural system can be compensated.

The Chief Minister emphasized that the campaign of planting trees should not be limited to the rainy season only. In every season, be it winter, summer or rainy, a campaign of planting trees should be run according to that season. The continuous campaign of planting trees should never stop.

The Chief Minister provided battery operated autos to four beneficiaries to enable people visiting the Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology to visit the campus.