Under the joint plantation drive envisaged by HP State Legal Services Authority and being implemented with the State forest department in the State, Justice Sanjay Karol, judge of HP High Court & Chairman HP State Legal Services Authority today planted a Chinnar sapling in D-52 Rohroo forest in Theog Range of Shimla Forest Circle. More than 2000 children of VIII to XII classes of government and private schools took part in the plantation programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Justice Karol said that this was first ever plantation programme of its kind in the State wherein 7.5 lakh students had been involved in the plantation activity. He said the concept was conceived in March 2014 by the HP State Legal Services Authority and executed by HP Forest Department in association with schools, judiciary and the district administration in the vicinity of Schools.
Justice Karol also participated in a human chain of school children made to clear and safely dispose off the polythene garbage from the plantation site.
Addressing the school children at Girls Sr. Secondary School Theog, he said that it was the social and moral duty of every citizen to preserve the environment and plant trees which was also envisaged in the directive principles of state policy. He said that NSS and Eco Clubs should be involved to ensure the after care of planted saplings. He exhorted the local bar association members to help display the name plates of school children on the plantation site to encourage the sense of belongingness.
Justice Karol said nature awareness was the active agenda of HP State Legal Services Authority and presently, the plantation was being encouraged and the thrust would also be on pollution control awareness activities, especially polythene in the near future.
The conservator of forests, Shimla circle Sanjay Sood said that in Shimla forest circle 39000 students of 157 government and private Schools in Shimla, Theog, Rohru and Chopal participated in the plantation drive.
Virendeer Singh Member Secretaries, HP High Court, Naresh Thakur, Adminstrative Officer, Sachin Raghu, CJM Theog, MR Bhardwaj SDM Theog, Neeraj Kumar DFO Theog, Raman Sharma DFO Urban Shimla, Dr. Ompal Sharma DFO Publicity, Shakti Awasthi ACF Theog, Princilpal sr. secondary school Theog and teachers of various government and private schools were also present on the occasion.
