Delhi Government launches “Paudhe Lagao Paryavaran Bachao”

On July 2, 2020, the Delhi Government launched “Paudhe Lagao Paryavaran Bachao”. It means “Plant Trees, Save Environment”.

Highlights

The campaign is to run for 17 days. Around 31 lakh saplings are to be planted during the campaign. These saplings are to be planted in various departments of the state government. The Delhi Development Authority is to plant 9 lakh and 40 thousand saplings, 2 lakhs by the Delhi State Metro, 2 lakhs by Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Out of the 31 lakhs, 20 lakhs are big trees and the rest of 11 lakhs are shrubs that are to be planted on either sides of the roads.

Background

The air pollution in the national capital has increased greatly in the last few years. In order to control air pollution in the National Capital Region, the state government of Delhi had brought in several measures. The State Government implements odd, even scheme during winters. The use of public transport and metro was encouraged. The vehicles running in Delhi were already of BS VI norms, while the rest of the country moved to BS-VI only in April 2020. Though, experts believe that the smog in Delhi is mainly because of stubble burning, increasing green cover in the region will help to bring down the pollution.

In 2017, the green cover in the capital was 299 square kilometres. This increased to 325 sq.km in 2019. The Delhi Government is currently working on the target of 350 sq.km of green cover.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2020