Chandigarh, June 5: On the occasion of Environment Day, Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said on that as many as 3 crore trees will be planted in a year in Haryana in a bid to get natural oxygen.
In Haryana, plantation would be done on 10 percent of the 8 lakh acres of panchayat land, which will be named as Oxy Forest. Not only this, all the trees planted in a year will also be named Oxy Forests.
Sh. Manohar Lal said that for maintenance of tree above 75 years a pension amount of Rs 2500 would be given per year in the name of Pran Vayu Devta and this pension would also increase every year similar to the old age samman pension.
In a bid to promote the process of getting natural oxygen from trees, plantation will be done in the name of Panchavati in every village of Haryana. Besides this, agro forestry will also be promoted on vacant land so that Panchayat income in rural areas can also increase.
The Chief Minister today also launched Oxy Forest on Forest Department land in Mughal Canal near Sector 4, Karnal.
Forest and Education Minister, Sh. Kanwar Pal, MP Sh. Sanjay Bhatia, MLA Gharaunda, Sh. Harvinder Kalyan, Additional Chief Secretary, Forest Department, Smt. G. Anupama also accompanied the Chief Minister and planted Panchavati saplings. In this Panchavati, trees of Bel, Banyan, Amla, Peepal and Ashoka were planted.
Besides this, the Chief Minister also inaugurated and laid foundation stones of three other projects at the same programme, these include laying foundation stone of Nagar Van Panchkula, starting Panchavati plantation at 134 places of Kurukshetra pilgrimage and Pran Vayu Devta Pension Scheme.
The Chief Minister said that oxygen shortage was one of the biggest problem which everyone faced during this Pandemic There is no substitute for Prana Vayu, that is why this forest has been named Oxy Forest, said Sh. Manohar Lal.
He said that whatever oxygen was used during the COVID-19 period was artificial and an arrangement of 300 MT oxygen supply was made in Haryana.
Government to give Rs. 10,000 as an incentive to the farmer adopting Agro Forestry for 3 years
Sh. Manohar Lal said that Mera Pani-Meri Virasat scheme was started by the state government to save water for the future generations.
He said that for this, it was decided that an incentive amount of Rs.7000 per acre would be given to the farmers adopting crop diversification in place of paddy and now the government has decided that any farmer who opts for agro forestry and plants 400 trees on his land, then an amount of Rs.10,000 would be given to such farmers for a period of three years instead of Rs. 7000.
He said that it is necessary to save the trees, for this, such people who take care of the trees should be honoured.
Sh. Manohar Lal said that 'Pranvayu Devta Pension' scheme will be unique and the first of its kind in India. As a matter of honour, the State Government has taken an initiative to honour all those trees which are of the age of 75 years and above and have served humanity throughout their life by producing oxygen, reducing pollution, providing shade and so on. Such trees will be identified throughout the state and these will be looked after by involving local people in this scheme.
The Chief Minister said, "We get pure air from the environment which benefits the entire humanity. For this, Oxy Forests will be planted on land ranging from 5 acres to 100 acres in the cities of Haryana".
He said that it was on June 5, 1974 when the Environment Day was first celebrated. A scheme named Paudhagiri was also started by the Haryana government to promote plantation. Under this scheme 22 lakh people planted various saplings. Under this scheme students were included and it was decided to give an amount of Rs. 50 every six months up to a period of three years to students as incentive for the maintenance of the plants planted by them.
The Chief Minister said that after planting the trees every person should take care of them like a child of their family so that they remain in healthy condition.
On the occasion of World Environment Day the theme of which is “Ecosystem-Restoration”, Sh. Manohar Lal said that in view of the COVID pandemic crisis and there is urgent need to establish more and more nature’s factories for the production of life saving oxygen, so that we breathe in fresh oxygen, live in a pollution free environment and lead a healthy life.
He said that as a gift to the residents of Panchkula town, Oxy Van Panchkula will be established in Bir Ghaggar over an area of one hundred acres to create Mother Nature’s green lungs so that the residents of Panchkula can breathe in fresh oxygen. The total cost of this project will be Rs One crore.
The Chief Minister said that the Oxy Van, Karnal will be created on Old Badshahi Canal (Also known as Mughal Canal) on an area of 80 acres covering a total length of 4.2 Kms. The park will have components namely: Chit Van (Forest of beauty), Paakhi Van (Forest of birds), Antriksh Van (Forest of zodiac plants), Tapo Van (Forest of meditation), Arogya Van (Healing/herbal forest), Neer Van (Forest of waterfalls), Rishi Van (Sapt Rishi) Panchvati (Five trees), Smaran Van (Forest of memories), Sugandh Suvaas/Sugandh Van and (Forest of fragrance).
Besides, the park will also have an information centre and a souvenir shop where the information related to the park, its components will be available, the people will also be able to buy plants at subsidized rates related to their Rashi to grow in their homesteads. One amphitheatre will be constructed where artists can perform for the entertainment of the public. Light and sound show will be shown to the visitors covering various aspects of this Oxy Van.
Oxy Van Karnal will be a unique gift to the people of Karnal from Chief Minister. The total cost of the project is Rs Five crore and it will be a joint venture of Haryana Forest Department, Govt. of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Municipal Committee, Karnal.
The Panchvati has cultural, mythological, and environmental significance. Panchvati literally means five trees. These trees are Banyan/Barh/ Bargad, Sacred Fig/Peepal, Stone apple (Bilwa/Bil), Aonla, Sita Ashok. Besides mythological significance, these trees provide a lot of ecological and environmental benefits.
Oxy forest is being built on 80 acres of land in Karnal
Forest and Education Minister, Sh. Kanwar Pal said that the concern for environment is increasing all over the world. He said that everyone should plant more and more trees and celebration of any ceremony should be done by planting more and more trees so that environmental balance is maintained.
He said that Oxy Forest is being built on an area of about 2.4 kms on 80 acres of land situated on the Mughal Canal.
He said that the Oxy Van, Karnal will be created on Old Badshahi Canal (Also known as Mughal Canal) on an area of 80 acres covering a total length of 4.2 Kms. The park will have components namely, Chit Van (Forest of beauty), Paakhi Van (Forest of birds), Antriksh Van (Forest of zodiac plants), Tapo Van (Forest of meditation), Arogya Van (Healing/herbal forest), Neer Van (Forest of waterfalls), Rishi Van (Sapt Rishi) Panchvati (Five trees), Smaran Van (Forest of memories), Sugandh Suvaas/Sugandh Van and (Forest of fragrance).
Additional Chief Secretary, Forest Department, Smt. G. Anupama said that the State Government has decided to plant 3 crore saplings this year, out of which 2 crore plants will be of indigenous types and Chief Minister has started this campaign with a plantation drive at 134 pilgrimage centres.
On this occasion MLA Indri, Sh. Ramkumar Kashyap, MLA, Nilokheri, Sh. Dharampal Gondar, Mayor, Smt. Renu Bala Gupta and other dignitaries were present.