It started in a small village Gwaldam in Chamoli district and it is now all set to turn into a people’s movement of afforestation all over the country.
In 1995, Kalyan Singh Rawat, a biology teacher in the Government Inter-college, had started the practice of planting a sapling to mark each wedding and now the move, started under the inspiration of an individual, has become a movement known as “Mati” (Myaka of the girl). When a girl leaves home after marriage, she plants a sapling and leaves it to the care of her parents. The sapling later grows into a big tree under the loving care of her parents and friends.
The move is now drawing appreciation from several other States where the dwindling green has become a matter of serious concern.
To take the movement across the State and the country, the members of the organisation engaged in it said while addressing a press conference in Dehradun on Saturday that they are sure that the move launched humbly in a non-descript village of the State would become a country-wide movement with full participation of the people and also the Governments.
Speaking at the media conference, Kalyan Singh Rawat, the founder of Mati, said that a small initiative started with sincerity has made a big difference. “Our work is being appreciated by all across the country as it has caught the imagination of at least 18 States. Rajasthan Government has recently informed us that they have started the same ritual of the bride planting a sapling in the State which is fast growing in popularity among the people. It is a big achievement for us. Also, the Gujarat Government has started the same movement and the practice has been given recognition as a governmental-sponsored movement and consequently the green cover is deepening in the State,” he said.
He also informed that they have launched a new movement called ‘Mati Gram Ganga Abhiyan’ under which every member of a family who is living away from their native places would save `1 for his/her ancestral village . “On the occasion of ‘World Environmental Day’, the money collected thus would be given to the villages to have trees planted in the name of the migrant families. The money left would be used for the development of the village in matters like education, sanitation, and health.
This would boost development of the villages and the development would act as an antidote to the unabated problem of migration,” he said.
Furthermore, the organisation is now engaged in educating at least two girls from the economically unprivileged families from each of 70 villages selected. “It is to support the ‘Beti Bachao Bati Padhao’ campaign,” Rawat added.
The other members of the organisation present at the press conference include Chandan Singh Negi, Santosh Rawat and Chatar Singh Negi.