Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar on Friday said 64 blocks in the State had been placed under the “dark zone” category due to their depleting groundwater levels.
If an area is included in the dark zone category, no boring can take place there without the approval of the authorities concerned.
Khattar said the State Government had enacted a new law for the conservation of forest area under which purchase of land as well as construction activities were totally prohibited within a radius of 500 metres around the forest area.
Speaking after inaugurating two-day International Conference on legal Dimensions of Environment at Amity University in Gurugram, Khattar said people were being encouraged to conserve forests by creating awareness among them. “Strict action would be taken against those who violated provisions of the law,” he added.
Referring to mining, Khattar said it should not be banned completely and allowed to a minimum extent so as to maintain the right level of riverbed and ensure that water flowed into it. Otherwise, the natural flow of water would get blocked due to excess deposition of soil. This would make water flow towards the population causing floods, he said.
Ample availability of water in the river would also help in increasing the groundwater level. As many as 64 blocks of the State had been included in the dark zone due to the depleting groundwater level, he added.
Asking the universities of the State to come forward, the Chief Minister said each university should adopt at least five to ten adjoining villages and contribute in various activities, including education, cleanliness, environment, health and employment.
He also urged colleges to adopt nearby villages and make a contribution in the development of the country and the state by carrying out various activities, including cleanliness, providing information to the farmers about the latest techniques of farming and proper guidance to the youths for employment.
The Chief Minister said joint efforts were needed for the conservation of environment. On the pattern of Swachh Bharat Mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Haryana Government had constituted Swachh Haryana Mission and was motivating the people to make all villages and cities free from open defecation, said he.
Now, Haryana is moving forward towards ODF plus and for this, various schemes and projects of solid and liquid waste management are being prepared, said the Chief Minister.
A committee constituted under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, in which he is also a member, has suggested the concept of 3R planning that is reduce, reuse and recycle. The suggestions of the committee also include ‘Waste to Energy’ and ‘Waste to Compost’ programmes, he added.
Khattar said the State Government would roll out a new reform every month. He urged the youth, especially the students, to give their valuable suggestions and ideas for new reforms in the interest of the society. The youth has best of ideas which could prove useful in the development of the state and the country, he added.