Nitish to take statewide yatra for environmental awareness

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said he would launch a statewide yatra (march) for making people aware about the environment so that generations to come could get clean air and potable water.

Kumar had launched the "Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali" (water- life-greenery) scheme on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2 in the state.

"First I undertook 'nyay yatra' and will now undertake 'Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali yatra' with a view to making people aware about the environment so that generations to come could get clean air and potable water," Kumar said in an official release.

He said this while inaugurating and laying foundation stones of 473 various schemes worth Rs 385 crore at a function held at a public meeting at Tikapatti under Rupauli block of the Purnea district.

The government had convened a meeting of all members of both houses of state legislature on July 13, 2019 where it was unanimously decided to make efforts for combating climate change, Kumar said.

The state government would spend Rs 24,000 crore in the next three years under the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali drive to improve the situation due to climate change.

Stating that the state's green coverage has increased to 15 per cent from nine per cent earlier by planting 19 crore saplings in the state, Kumar said the government has set a target of achieving 17 per cent green cover by planting eight crore additional plants.

Talking about the incidents of stubble burning in fields, he said farmers have now started buring their crop residue even in north Bihar after such cases were found in Rohtas, Kaimur, Patna and Nalanda districts.

This not only gives rise to pollution but also reduces the soil fertility which ultimately affects productivity, he added.

The state government will give 75 per cent subsidy for buying farm equipments like rotary mulcher, straw baler, straw reaper to general farmers while 80 per cent subsidy will be given to farmers belonging to SC, ST and Extremely Backward Caste (EBC), Kumar said.

These equipments will help farmers in cutting, collecting and making bundles of crop residues/stubbles which are normally left in the field after crop cutting by combined harvester, he added.

Stating that coal stock is limited, the cm said "after installing solar plates on the rooftops of government buildings, we will motivate people to install solar plates on their rooftops to draw energy from solar."
Stating that Tikapatti is a historical place which was visited by Mahatma Gandhi thrice in 1925, 1927 and 1934, the cm said "I have come here to know and understand more about Bapu...Apart from a library, another institution will come up at Tikapatti which will be named after Bapu from where people can gain information about Bapu."