Environment Ministry to Start Nursery Programme

New Delhi, June 8, 2015: Environment Ministry is soon going to start a programme under which children will set up nurseries in urban city schools.

"We are formulating a new programme which will start within a month. Children need to understand what is nature.

They have to understand that without humans, nature and trees can be there but without trees, human life is impossible. "That is why we are coming up with urban school nursery programme.

In every school, 500-1000 plants will be readied every year by children. "Every child will sow one seed.

The child will learn how to nourish the plant. We will do it," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said during an event organised by NGO 'Sathi', a day after World Environment Day.

He said his Ministry also launched an urban forestry scheme in Pune today which aims at increasing green cover by utilising forest land lying vacant or degraded in various cities across the country. "There are forest land but they are degraded. In cities, there are gardens but no forests.

Therefore, forests with native trees need to be created. One-third of forest department land is degraded," he said.

Referring to the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, Javadekar said the funds which were accumulating in banks for the last ten years and was meant for afforestation efforts will be passed in the Parliament in the Monsoon Session.

"To increase green cover in degraded land, the Narendra Modi government took this initiative.

For Rs 35,000 crore funds which were accumulating in banks for the last ten years and were supposed to be used for afforestation, we have brought a bill which has been placed in Parliament and will be cleared in the Monsoon Session.

"We will provide the amount to states so that the dream of green India can be achieved. We will do aggressive afforestation through it," Javadekar said.

PTI