Get Rs 50 for every tree you plant: Hry govt to schoolchildren

The Haryana government today decided to introduce a scheme under which an incentive of Rs 50 will be given to schoolchildren for planting trees, an official release said.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today to review the progress of environment-centric schemes of different government departments.

Under the new scheme, students from Classes 6 to 12 of both government and private schools will be given an incentive of Rs 50 each for every live tree planted by them every six months for a period of three years, the release said.

The students will also be provided with books about environment conservation.

The drive will be launched by the school education department on July 10 and the forest department will ensure the availability of adequate number of saplings, the release added.

There are about 22 lakh students studying from Classes 6 to 12 in the state, it said, adding that they will be motivated to plant at least one tree in their house or at a public place.

To cultivate a sense of connection, the children will be encouraged to name their trees after famous personalities or their ancestors.

The education department will submit a weekly report to the chief minister about the progress made under the scheme, the release said.

A decision to use water bottles made of glass over their plastic counterparts in the Haryana civil secretariat was also taken at the meeting.

Plastic water bottles were recently banned across all state government offices.

Reviewing the progress of 'Tooti Lagao Pani Bachao', Khattar ordered the launch of a massive drive for installation of taps in all villages where water was going waste due to open pipes, the release said.

He also directed the officials to inform the village panchayats about the wastage of water, it said.

Khattar also directed the urban local bodies department to prepare a list of plots measuring over 500 square yards, low lying plots of Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) and in areas falling under the ten municipal corporations, it said.

This list will be used for a plan under which rain water harvesting systems will be made mandatory in these plots.

A decision was also taken to replace the existing halogen, sodium vapour bulbs and tubelights in all government offices with energy efficient LED lights before August 15.