Kolkata, Nov. 2 -- West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Basu has urged every MLA to plant at least 100 saplings every month as part of a public participation drive to promote environmental conservation.
If all legislators participate, the state could see 12-13 lakh trees planted over five years, helping to reduce pollution. Basu stressed that planting must be accompanied by proper maintenance, adding that the Centre's VB-G RAM G scheme would provide for upkeep of the saplings for up to three years.
Saplings would be supplied by the state forest department. He clarified that the initiative was a social responsibility of legislators rather than a government programme and would soon be formally proposed in the Assembly.
Basu also highlighted plans to strengthen grassroots engagement through Netaji Seva Kendras in constituencies, where residents could submit grievances for follow-up with district administrations.
He said most MLAs had already started the initiative, proposed by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, and discussed it during his meeting with Governor RN Ravi on Monday.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.