5 days ago
Review last year's tree plantation status: Haryana chief secy
: Haryana chief secretary Anurag Rastogi has said that under the state government's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0, (EPMKN 2.0) green initiative, 'whole of government' and 'whole of society' approach will be adopted.
The chief secretary reviewed the state's action plan in a meeting with senior officials and discussed the strategies to align the campaign with key national missions while the forest department said that 1.81 crore saplings are available for this year's plantation drive across 200 government nurseries in 22 districts.
Rastogi also directed a thorough review of last year's plantations to ensure their sustained upkeep and growth and sought a report in this regard.
Additional chief secretary (ACS-environment, forests and wildlife) Anand Mohan Sharan said that last year 1.87 crore saplings were planted with over 52 lakh in urban areas and about 135 lakh in rural regions. The campaign saw the participation of 51 government departments and lakhs of citizens, reflecting Haryana's strong commitment to climate action, he said.
Meanwhile, the chief secretary stated that this year the campaign will align closely with national flagship schemes such as MGNREGA, Jal Shakti Abhiyaan, Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart Cities Mission, and the National Green Highways Mission.
The 2025-26 campaign will place a major emphasis on massive plantation activities by involving youth and students.
In addition to schools, the state forest department (SFD), urban local bodies, and the horticulture, public works, and HSVP departments, along with community organisations and volunteers, will actively participate in the plantation drives. These activities will target riverbanks, canal bunds, Amrit Sarovars, and other water bodies, in line with this year's 'Catch the Rain 2025' theme under the Jal Shakti Abhiyaan.
To ensure effective on-ground implementation, Rastogi instructed deputy commissioners to form district plantation committees. These committees will be responsible for identifying plantation sites, assessing land availability, preparing plant demand, and finalising coordination plans.
Each department at the district level has been asked to submit data on available lands suitable for plantation and to collaborate closely with nurseries to meet sapling requirements. They were also directed to prepare a plan regarding the aftercare of planted saplings under the scheme.
Haryana lokayukta to conduct proceedings via video conferencing
The Haryana government on Monday said that the state Lokayukta will now adopt video conferencing (VC) facilities to hold the proceedings of the cases.
This is a part of a broader state government initiative aimed at leveraging audio-visual electronic means for all official interactions, aligning with new central criminal laws and Supreme Court guidelines, a government spokesperson said.
Haryana chief secretary Anurag Rastogi has issued a letter in this regard to all administrative secretaries, heads of departments, board/corporation managing directors, divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners etc to ensure compliance of the new instructions.
The spokesperson said that the decision to integrate VC facilities is rooted in the enabling provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Section 336 (Evidence of public servants, experts, police officers in certain cases) and Section 530 (Trial and proceedings to be held in electronic mode) explicitly promote the use of audio-visual electronic means for all proceedings.
