Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that exploitation of resources increased due to blind desire for materialistic progress and it has disturbed the natural balance. Due to this, the adverse impacts of climate change are coming to the fore. By the year 2050, the temperature of the earth's surface is likely to increase by 2 centigrade.
This will make life very difficult. The use of excessive chemical fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture is resulting in the spread of cancer. Mothers and sisters of India have been sensitive to nature for thousands of years, their respect for nature was expressed in the worship of trees and mountains. The present generation will also have to develop consciousness for environmental protection, if we do not make meaningful efforts in this direction, then we will not be able to leave the earth livable for the coming generations. For environmental protection, every person has to take a pledge to plant trees, save electricity, not to waste water and not to use single-use plastic. By changing these habits, we can serve the earth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown the direction to the world for environmental protection by giving the mantra of Mission LiFE (lifestyle for the environment). Chouhan was inaugurating the state level programme of Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) at Ravindra Bhawan for public awareness towards environmental protection and conservation on World Environment Day. All 52 districts of the state were connected virtually with the programme.
The Chief Minister offered water on the Tulsi plant and inaugurated the programme by performing Kanya Pujan and lighting the lamp. The CM released the State Climate Change Action Plan and Climate Action Plan booklets of seven smart cities of the state, Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Satna and Sagar. Along with this, certificates of three new Ramsar sites of the state, Sirpur Wetland Indore, Yashwant Sagar Indore and Sankhya Sagar Shivpuri were also given to the concerned officials. Chouhan gave acceptance letters of Climate Change PhD Fellowship to 5 research scholars.
Chouhan awarded two best suggestions of Waste-to-Wealth Hackathon on the topic Atmanirbhar Gaushala to Anil Tomar and Dr. Yogendra Kumar Saxena. Chouhan honoured Head of Forest Force Ramesh Gupta for organising more than one lakh programmes by the Forest Department on the theme of Mission LiFE. It is notable that one lakh 75 thousand programmes have been organised by various departments on the theme of Mission LiFE so far.
Chouhan presented identity cards and training booklets to LiFE Volunteers youths of Bhopal, Vidisha, Raisen and Sehore districts. These youth will work for environmental awareness. In this programme, a film focused on Climate Change Action Plan, Climate Change Fellowship and Lifestyle for Environment was also screened.
Chief Minister Chouhan said that Indian culture is wonderful. Our sages and Munis had already realised the ill effects of causing damage to nature. In Indian culture it is believed that there is only one consciousness in all of us. The creatures also have the same consciousness that is in the animals.
Hence the worship of animals as vahans (vehicles) of various deities along with Gau-mata has been a part of the Indian way of life from the very beginning. The Chief Minister said that a tree gives life to many living beings. Trees are worshipped in our culture. Rivers were considered as mothers and Govardhan Puja gave the message of protection of trees, mountains and the whole nature.
