GUWAHATI, July 5 � Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said that as a part of the ongoing Van Mahotsav Week, the State Government plans to plant 25 lakh saplings throughout Assam.
The Chief Minister said that apart from its positive impact on the environment, the move would have a direct bearing on the socio-economic development of the State.
�Since 70 per cent people of the State are associated with agriculture and other allied sectors, an enhanced green coverage augurs well for the economy of the State,� he said.
As a sequel to a series of programmes to observe the 66th Van Mahotsav Week, the Chief Minister led a community sapling plantation programme at Boko in Kamrup district.
As part of the week which started on July 1, thousands of saplings of diverse species were planted today with energetic participation of the student fraternity, teachers, local citizens, Army personnel and various other agencies like the Forest Department.
Acknowledging the people of Boko who have come out in large numbers to observe Van Mahotsav, Gogoi said his Government is committed to promoting all the sectors that were intertwined with Nature and the people associated with it.
The Chief Minister in his speech laid thrust on large-scale plantation and its preservation for a green and developed Assam �because the economy of the State is intrinsically associated with plants and their offshoots.�
The Chief Minister said that love for Nature leads to good human beings and good human beings always encourage their coexistence with Nature.
�Forceful encroachment on the Nature leads to conflict, which spells doom to biodiversity, leading to environmental degeneration. To reduce conflict between man and Nature and man and animal, one needs to increase green coverage by encouraging plantation,� he said.
Calling the spontaneous participation in the community plantation drive a �crusade�, Gogoi said, �The move will augur well in maintaining the environment along with its other components like aqua life, avian life, terrestrial life, so on and so forth.� He also advocated large-scale plantation for controlling flood and erosion.
Van Mahotsav is celebrated every year from July 1 to 7, and the movement was initiated in the year 1950 by the then Union Minister Agriculture, Dr KM Munshi.
Earlier, the Minister for Environment and Forest, Atuwa Munda delivered the welcome address. MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed, Chief Secretary VK Pipersenia, Additional Chief Secretary Davinder Kumar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests D Mathur, along with others, were present on the occasion.
