The Legislative Assembly premises would soon become a plastic-free zone. Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy said steps would forthwith be initiated to curb the use of plastic on the Assembly premises. Plastic goods would be replaced by earthenware as part of the efforts to make the Assembly premises environment-friendly.
The Speaker chaired the first meeting of the Assembly committee on environment and wildlife protection here on Monday.
The State government has initiated a slew of measures for making the State environment-friendly and a liveable place and these efforts need cooperation from all sections of the society.
The meeting reviewed the measures taken by the government for enhancing forest cover, promoting greenery and others, and the members stressed the need for taking more steps to ensure pollution-free air and fluoride-free water to people. The Speaker said the government had attached special significance to environment promotion and initiated steps like Harita Haaram, Mission Bhagiratha and Kaleshwaram projects which received accolades from across the country.
During the more than three-hour meeting, the committee members enquired about the steps that were being taken by the Forest Department to enhance forest cover that would in turn ensure adequate rainfall. When it was brought to the notice of the committee that though there was adequate rainfall this season, the catchment areas of Manjira river did not receive much inflows -- which is a cause of concern.
The Speaker directed the Forest and Irrigation departments’ officials to study the reasons behind the low rainfall registered in the Manjira catchment area and submit a report soon. He suggested that the Forest Department officials utilise the funds sanctioned under the CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority Act) and set up water tanks in addition to taking steps to ensure survival of the saplings planted under the Harita Haaram programme.
Steps should also be initiated to lay special emphasis on planting fruit bearing trees to avoid migration of monkeys and other forest animals into human habitat. The officials explained the Speaker that the steps initiated by the government had resulted in significant reduction in encroachment of forest areas.
