Tree plantation drive in Haryana a great success: CM

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said the tree plantation drive launched for environmental protection has achieved "great success" in the state.

The state government has linked thousands of schoolchildren with the tree plantation campaign for environmental protection, Khattar said.

Last year, the chief minister launched a campaign aimed at increasing the green cover in the state.

Under the 'Paudhagiri' campaign, 22 lakh students from class 6 to 12 of all government and private schools in Haryana will plant a sapling each during three months of monsoon -- July, August and September, the chief minister had said at the launch.

Even this year, a target has been set to associate 22 lakh students of government and private schools with this campaign, he said at a tree plantation drive in Faridabad on Sunday.

Khattar said "plants should be loved like children and cared for in the same manner like parents take care of their children".

"After some years, these plants will become big trees, which are of immense benefit to mankind and our environment," he said.

The chief minister said Haryana has nearly 3.5 per cent forest area as against 25 to 30 per cent in many states.

"The forest area in the state needs to be increased," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Industries, Commerce and Environment Minister Vipul Goel said the tree plantation campaign was launched many years ago in Faridabad and this time, it has been carried forward by scattering crores of seeds of different tree species in the Aravali mountain range using drones.

Goel, who is MLA from Faridabad, called upon all the industrialists from the city, resident welfare associations, social-religious institutions and administrative departments to carry further the plantation campaign.