CM Pushkar Singh Dhami felicitated the people doing the best work in the field of environment on the occasion of World Environment Day at Mukhya Sevak Sadan in the Chief Minister’s residence on Thursday. Sunderlal Bahuguna Nature and Environment Conservation Award, 2025 (Government Category) was conferred on Municipal Corporation Rudrapur. The award was received by Deputy Municipal Commissioner Mrs. Shipra Joshi from Municipal Corporation Rudrapur. Shri Vijay Jardhari and Shri Pratap Singh Pokhriyal were awarded the Sunderlal Bahuguna Nature and Environment Conservation Award, 2025 (Non-Governmental Category). The Chief Minister also released an awareness poster of the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board and a portal prepared by the Ecotourism Corporation. On the occasion, the Chief Minister administered the pledge of plastic-free Uttarakhand and distributed cloth bags to school children.
The Chief Minister directed the Forest Department to plant at least one thousand fruit bearing trees in each forest division of the state this year. This will ensure adequate food for the animals. The Chief Minister urged the people of the state and the travellers not to feed such things to the animals which are harmful to their health. He called for plantation of saplings on birthdays, wedding anniversaries and other important occasions. Only through the resolution of such efforts will we be able to promote environmental protection. Greeting everyone on World Environment Day, the Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand is a state full of natural beauty and biodiversity. Dense forests, sacred rivers, Himalayan glaciers are the geographical identity of our state.
CM Pushkar said that due to the efforts of the Prime Minister, India is moving ahead globally in the field of renewable energy production. Schemes like Solar Mission, Electric Mobility, Green Hydrogen Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, Namami Gange Campaign and Plastic Free India Campaign are playing an important role in environmental protection. He said that the State Government celebrates LokParv Harela in a big way as a mega festival of nature conservation. The Spring and River Rejuvenation Authority (SARA) has been constituted to conserve traditional water sources like nullahs, streams and rain-fed rivers of the state.
CM Pushkar said that in the last one year, the work of conservation and treatment of more than 6,500 water sources has been successfully done in the state. About 3.12 million cubic metres of rainwater has also been harvested. It has been made mandatory to keep dustbins in vehicles coming to the state on various religious, tourist and other occasions, including the Char Dham Yatra. He said that the recently held National Games in the state were held on the theme of ‘Green Games’. All the medals and awards at the event were made from e-waste materials and the sports kits were also made from recycled materials. Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal said that Uttarakhand is sensitive towards environment. As a result, today Uttarakhand is among the top five carbon-absorbing states in the country.
CM Pushkar said that for environmental protection, we have given priority to public participation. He said that travellers coming to Uttarakhand are being made aware about the environment. Today, work is also being done on alternatives to plastic in the state. We have to take special care that there is minimum use of plastic. Chief Secretary Shri Anand Vardhan said that along with development, environmental protection is also important, for which the concept of Gross Environment Product has been brought. On the directions of the Chief Minister, environment awards have been started at the state level. He said that conservation of environment and water is the collective responsibility of all. Chief Conservator of Forests Dr. Dhananjay Mohan, senior officials of the administration, police and forest department were present on the occasion. Department of Information and Public Relations