Farmers whose loans are being waived should be asked to plant 10 trees each: Adityanath

Lucknow: The 86 lakh farmers of Uttar Pradesh, whose loans are being waived, should be asked to plant ten saplings each so that there are more trees, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath suggested today.

Even those who seek permission to cut a tree should also be asked to plant ten, the chief minister was speaking at an event held here to mark the international environment day.

"While distributing letters of loan waiver to 86 lakh farmers, all of them should be given ten saplings each. They should be asked not only to plant them but also to keep them safe," he said.

The Adityanath government had recently announced waiver of crop loans of up to Rs 1 lakh owed by small and marginal farmers.

It is necessary to give individuals the responsibility of keeping plants safe for increasing the forest cover of the state from the present nine per cent to 15 per cent, the chief minister said today.

He suggested that those who seek permission to cut trees should also be asked to plant ten saplings each. Farmers should also be asked to focus on water conservation, Adityanath said.

He said that India does not need to follow any other country as far as ways and means for preserving the environment are concerned

It is possible through the traditional methods prevalent in the country, he said.

Adityanath said that there was a need to turn environment conservation into a people's movement as the efforts of government alone won't be sufficient.

Referring to the issue of global warming, he said that there was a need to strike a balance with nature.