Harela festival to be linked with vanamahotsava

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 7

The Harela festival will be linked with the vanmohatsav programme with an aim to connect environment conservation with the culture of Uttarakhand.

A drive will be carried out across the state from July 10 to 18 as part of the statewide programme Aao Manaye Hariyala.

The festival will also be linked to the Mera Vriksh Mera Dhan scheme of the state government to encourage plantation in the state.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat at a meeting held at the Secretariat here today directed all District Magistrates to make comprehensive preparations for the programme. He said for any scheme to be successful, community participation was a must and for environment conservation public participation would be encouraged.

The Chief Minister announced to hold a Hariyala competition in every village. He said people would get connected emotionally if the Mera Vriksh Mera Dhan scheme was linked to festivals and the district magistrates must start preparations right away. The people should be informed about the programme by organising meetings in villages and by involving gram, block, and zila panchayats, youths and women groups, NGOs and van panchayats.

He explained the format of the scheme and said the minister and officers in charge of various districts would plant saplings in villages. Similarly, district magistrates, chief development officers, divisional forest officers, SDMs, chief medical officers, block development officers and village development officers would also plant saplings in villages.

The tree plantation drive would be held in each village under the Mera Vriksha Mera Dhan scheme and a government officer would supervise it in every gram panchayat. Those who plant saplings of malta, chyudha, mahua, akhrot, pangal and amwala varieties would be given awards.

The person planting the saplings would have its responsibility for three years and Rs 300 bonus per tree would be given to him on the completion of three years. If a gram panchayat holds a community tree plantation, a bonus of Rs 3 or Rs 4 each plant would be given for planting at least 5,000 trees. There will A Hariyala competition would be held after celebrating Harela on July 17. The woman whose Hariyala is found good would be given a prize of Rs 500 per month for one year.

Haridwar: An eight-day greenery drive, “Aao Manaye Hariyali” (Harela) will be organised from July 10 to 18 across the district.

The drive is linked with the ambitious social programme “My tree-my money” being carried out in the state.

Chief Development Officer Ranjana Harela said the drive would ensure mass participation of people and several programmes related to environment awareness and conservation would be organised at villages.

“Mass plantation of saplings will be carried out under at each gram sabha. For this, government officials will be nominated at each gram panchayat of the district. Those who will plant saplings will be awarded or given certificates from the government,” Ranjana said.

To ensure saplings are taken care of, the onus will be on the person planting the sapling. For this, he will be given an amount of Rs 300 per sapling for three years. Bonus will be given for additional 100 trees planted by a person. For fruit trees, the amount will be Rs 400 for first three years while bonus will remains same at Rs 100. Saplings will be distributed free of cost to people by the respective departments.

Ranjana said Harela festival would be celebrated across the state on July 17. Several programme and competitions will be held at every village to mark the festival.

A cash reward of Rs 500 will be given to women who are adjudged best in the green plantation house category.A committee has been formed under the BDO in this regard, comprising officials as members from agriculture, horticulture and the Forest Department.

Meanwhile, a seven-day “Van Mahotsav” concluded at Dev Sanskriti University under the aegis of the National Service Scheme and Tourism Department.

Participants were apprised of the Ganga cleaning drive, personal hygiene, health awareness, basic computer knowledge and other social issues during the seven-day event.

Shabina and Vivek were adjudged winners in the essay-writing and poster-slogan competitions.