Tamil Nadu: Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said that the Tamil Nadu government will be a government not only for social justice but also for ecological justice; people should support it.
Speaking at the World Environment Day celebrations held in Chennai on Wednesday, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said: No other state in India has so many movements or projects for environmental protection. To that extent, in Tamil Nadu, we have been implementing several visionary initiatives in the last four years. Through the Tamil Nadu Green Movement, we have planted over 10 crore saplings and increased forest cover.
Starting the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Movement, we have set a record as the state with the highest number of ‘Ramsar’ recognized wetlands in India with 21. We are implementing unique projects like the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Project and the Tamil Nadu Wetland Restoration Project.
Great Flamingo: In the last four years, we have declared and legally protected 65 new forest reserves covering an area of over 7,000 hectares. We have created new coastal forests and revived blue carbon ecosystems.
Next, I am issuing a government notification regarding Tamil Nadu’s first Greater Flamingo Sanctuary at Dhanushkodi in the Gulf of Mannar.
We have seen significant progress in protecting forest-based species like elephants and tigers. On the other hand, we are committed to protecting lesser-known and endangered species. The environmental and climate crisis cannot be solved by government programmes alone.
‘Manjabhai’ should become a people’s movement: Manjabhai project has been launched again to fight plastic pollution. It is not enough to be a government project for this. It should become a people’s movement. Only government projects can bring it. Its success lies in bringing about a change in the daily habits of people. It will be a little difficult in the beginning. But there is no other way.
The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is to eliminate plastic pollution. Today plastic pollution is suffocating the earth. When we go out, we should carry a cloth bag and a water bottle with us. In this way we can reduce plastic pollution.
