Haryana Government has decided to honour the girl who had reported the case of crop residue burning by her father to the local pollution control authorities in the State.
Haryana State Pollution Control Board will honour and reward Sonali Shepkhand, a Jind girl from Dhakhal village of Narwana, for reporting the case of crop residue burning by her father to the local pollution control authorities. The girl will be awarded with a cash award of `11,000 for her exemplary contribution to the cause of prevention of crop residue/ stubble burning in the state, said an official spokesman.
Her complaint had attracted her father a penalty of `2,500. It is learnt that she advised her father against burning the paddy crop residue as it would harm nature and damage the environment.
However, when her father went ahead with burning the stubble she promptly reported the matter to the district level committee constituted by the Environment Department for prevention of crop residue burning in the district.
The spokesman said that the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi, had directed both the Pollution Control Board and the State Government to constitute district level committees to monitor cases of stubble/crop residue burning and prevent them through awareness campaigns and enforcement measures.
He said that the board officials hope that this recognition will serve as a motivating factor for other children, youth and farmers to play a role in the prevention of stubble burning during the current harvesting season.
It should also encourage children to take a vow for a ‘Green Deepavali’ with a firm no to fire-crackers to reduce air pollution in the state and in the NCR areas. The cash award and a certificate of appreciation will be given to Sonali at an appropriate function, the spokesman added.