A plantation drive aimed at the conservation of native plant species, beautification of government office premises and collective participation in climate action was launched by the Assam government on Sunday.
Christened ‘Chief Minister's Institutional Plantation Programme’ (CMIPP), the drive will cover over 80,000 campuses of government offices, urban local bodies, corporations, autonomous councils, registered societies and educational institutions in the state, before its conclusion on August 15, a release here said.
Sarma kicked off the programme by planting a sapling at Janata Bhawan premises and then took part in a meeting to mark the launching ceremony.
The CMIPP is an initiative of the Science, Technology and Climate Change Department, according to the release.
During the month-long programme, saplings of native species will be planted in various places, followed by proper upkeep by officials.
The growth of saplings will be monitored through a dedicated web portal, where geotagged photographs of the plants would be uploaded, the release said.
Speaking on the occasion, Sarma asked the education, health and home departments, which have a maximum number of field offices, to ensure proper implementation of the programme.
He urged all state government departments to register on the web portal.
Underlining factors responsible for the scourge of floods, Sarma pointed to the loss of forest cover as one of the primary reasons for such natural calamities.
He highlighted the larger role that the forest department can play in reclaiming green cover through the plantation and clearance of encroachment among other measures.
Sarma asked the forest department to prepare modalities for shifting settlers who are genuinely landless from forest zones to non-forest areas and adopt zero tolerance against all recent encroachments.
(Input from PTI)
