Environment Day celebrations

Chandigarh, June 5: Haryana Government today, on the occasion of World Environment Day, launched a special six-month long drive to educate the people about norms to conserve environment and decided to challan those who would be found violating these norms after completion of the special awareness drive. This was stated by Haryana Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Mrs Kiran Choudhry while addressing a press conference at a State Level Function organised at Yadvindra Gardens, Pinjore, near here today to mark World Environment Day. The Minister launched the awareness drive by herself joining others in pasting stickers on vehicles passing by the famous Mughal Gardens on the National Highway No 22. She said that such defaulters would include polluting industries, hospitals and clinics for bio medical waste, HUDA and Water Supply and Sanitation Department for maintaing sewage plants, municipal bodies for solid waste management, mining, owners of stone crushers, diesel sets, hotmix plants, washing and screening plants and manufacturers and users of plastic carry bags. She made it clear that penalisation of glaring violations was being done now,but after six months surprise checks would be carried out all through the State and those found violating the norms would invite stern action against themselves. The Minister said that 20,000 vehicles throughout the State were to be targeted by the school children which would be pasted with stickers bearing slogans on environment to celebrate the World Environment Day. She said that these school children would target the vehicles crossing the toll plazas, major district highways, main National Highways and Indian Oil Corporation petrol pumps running within the State. The main aim of this awareness campaign was to disseminate the message of environment conservation to maximum people and to spread awareness through these vehicles across the country. she added. She said that free pollution check up camps were also organised across the State to help the vehicle owners know about the pollution emission levels of their vehicles. In reply to a question, Environment Minister said that to check the pollution norms especially in the National Capital Region, regular monitoring was being done by the State Pollution Control Board. The Minister said that it was the need of the hour to create environment awareness among the masses. She appealed to the children and especially to the media persons to disseminate the message on environment conservation as they were the powerful mediums to carry this national message across the globe. She said that this was not just a Government led campaign but a campaign of each and every citizen of the country. She said that the Haryana Government was taking many preventing measures to minimize the pollution levels in the State by way of posters, to educate the farmers not to burn paddy straw in the open fields and by taking conservation measures through stickers, by placing hoardings on Roadways buses and other public places and offices. She said that the Government had organised poster and painting competition, environment quiz, slogan writing, essay competition, rallies and tree plantation among the school children through the Eco clubs of the State. To celebrate the Environment Day, films on environment issues and dramas highlighting the importance of environment were also being organised at public places so as to create awareness among the general Public. She said that the Haryana Pollution Control Board was planning a common treatment and storage facility for disposal of hazardous waste for proper and scientific disposal of hazardous waste. As many as 4000 Eco clubs have been set up in the various schools through out the State.The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee had been constituted for granting environmental clearance to sewage treatment plants, for provision of 25 per cent area as green belt, proper parking arrangements, noise and emission control in Diesel Generator sets, rain water harvesting, recycling of treated waste water. It had also given a proposal to the Department of PWD B and R to construct road by using 5 to 10 per cent of waste plastic. This would help in cleaning the environment to a greater extent. The State Government has gone a step ahead in restricting the use of plastic carry bags and encouraging recycling of waste plastic carry bags and had set the minimum thickness of plastic carry bag to 30 microns with minimum size of 8"x12". The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has also written to the Central Pollution Control Board to direct the State of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh for controlling pollution in river Yamuna as it being a interstate pollution problem. State Pollution Control Board has also been monitoring the quality of water in river Yamuna by taking regular samples of its own and periodical joint samples with Central Pollution Control Board.