Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar, on Monday released the smart e-book outlining the green agenda for 2015. Among the important worklists for the year include time-bound disposal of applications, greening degraded forest, besides putting forth country’s stand on climate change in CoP 23 in Paris, sustainable development.
“The Environment Ministry that was earlier regarded as hindrance to development has now become a facilitator to sustainable development,” said Javadekar. The Ministry is working to make India a ‘plastic-free country’ drive where common man would be involved in awareness campaigns, and thus be encouraged to give up plastic.
“Rivers, lakes and ponds would also be restored, while reviving save water and electricity campaign,” he said. There was also stress on people’s participation in the various green campaigns. In the coming days, the Environment Ministry would initiate drives for turning degraded lands into urban patches of green. The campaigns would be designed to ensure the participation of the youth.
The e-book will be launched in Hindi and can be accessed through various mobile platforms as iOS and Android.
He further cleared apprehensions regarding the present laws on environment that they may get diluted to make clearance of development projects smoother. “We are not diluting any rule or Act to facilitate the development,” he stressed.
The smart e-book called Development without Destruction also highlights some of the important initiatives taken by the Ministry during the past eight months. It allows users to share the e-book on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Further, this is the first of its kind smart e-book that incorporates an audio book feature with text to help users listen to each topic in the Ministry.
The smart e-book further contains an interactive feature of an Environment Wall showcasing the varied events, which can be updated at frequent intervals.