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The Tree Help Line
T he
avenue trees of Delhi have been dying – choked due to tiling and
concretisation nailed and girdled. CLEAN-Delhi schools along
with Free the Trees forum have been monitoring these trees and
reporting to the concerned authorities for suitable action. One
of the problems faced was the multiplicity of agencies and
authorities involved.
These roadside trees have at last got a
breather. Under the chairmanship of Hon’ble CM of Delhi, Smt.
Sheila Dikshit, the Delhi Government has taken steps to ensure
and restore basic living conditions to the beautiful living
trees of Delhi.
An expert committee has been constituted
consisting of officials from NGOs and officials from Forest
Department and other Government agencies and is chaired by the
Secretary Environment and Forests, NCT, Delhi, This Committee
has laid down guidelines for greening and for monitoring the
greens. Development Alternatives being a member of this expert
committee is involved in spreading awareness through its network
of CLEAN-Delhi schools and also work out solutions and take
suitable action.
A tree help line (Phone number: 3378513)
has been launched in Delhi – which is a single window to lodge
all complaints regarding threats to Delhi trees. The damage to
the trees which should be reported include excessive lopping,
digging in the root zone of the tree, nailing of advertisements
and hoardings on trees and choking due to tiling or tarring upto
the tree trunk (without leaving a space of 6 X 6 feet around the
tree.
The issue is not specific to Delhi. The
unplanned urbanization of many of our cities and towns is
leading to more and more concretisation and faster depletion of
green cover.
Each and every CLEAN-India member is a
tree ambassador and has the responsibility of spreading
awareness and taking action in their our cities and towns. In
the words of an young environmentalist, Shubam Yogi, unless we
want "trees of bricks & flowers of cement" we need to take
urgent and appropriate action and save our greens.
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Message from Secretary of Environment, Government of NCT
Delhi, Hon’ble Madam Naini Jayaseelan
I am
extremely delighted to know that Development Alternatives is
bringing out a CLEAN-India special on 5th June’2002 to mark
the World Environment Day. The message to the children could
not have come about at a more appropriate time when we are
faced with increasing levels of air and water pollution. To
improve the situation, dependence on government ultimately has
to decrease since government alone cannot meet the increasing
demands for power, water, sanitation etc. it is in this
context that the role of NGO’s like Development Alternatives
becomes all the more important not only to make the public
aware of the problems that will be faced by the younger
generation that if we continue to exploit our natural
resources the way we have been doing but also to mobilise
public opinion so that we learn to conserve the resources
available and take positive action to ensure that we do not
degrade the environment further.
I wish Development Alternatives
and all the children all success in this field . I hope all
the children will join us in a tree plantation drive during
the monsoon season this year. |
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C olin
Coolidge once said – "No person was ever honoured for what he
received. Honour has been the reward for what he gave". We
receive so much from the Society but in order to give
something back to the Society, Environment Secretariat was
established at Salwan Public School (Afternoon), Rajinder
Nagar, Salwan Education Trust. Probably, our Institution is
the pioneer member of the CLEAN-Delhi program started by
Development Alternatives. Since then, we both have been
working in unison and trying to spread the message of the
cleaner environment through our students and faculty alike as
we believe in the words of Gaylord Nelson, Co-founder and a
Consultant to the Wilderness Society "we can do every thing
necessary to forge a sustainable society………".
All around us we see signs of
environmental degradation, we are over using our air, water
and other natural resources. Global warming has added to our
woes. It is for this reason that organizations like
Development Alternatives and school should work together, pass
on the message to the community through the students to use
fewer resources and produce less pollution. We have recently
formed a Salwan Parents Eco Club with the Partnership of
Development Alternatives. During the first meeting between the
Development Alternatives, parents and representatives of RWAs
brought out the various environmental related issues in focus
and recommendations were made to make the colony a better
place to live. Close association between us has made the
difference in the thinking of all the students and their
parents resulting in non-use of plastic bags, non bursting of
crackers during Diwali, use of natural colours during Holi,
Eco visarjan during Durga/Ganesh Puja, Air, Water and Bio
monitoring, paper recycling, vermicomposting, rain water
harvesting and so on. May be it is for this reason that the
Department of Environment, Govt. of NCT Delhi chose us as the
Lead School and Development Alternatives as the Best
CLEAN-Delhi school for the year 2001-2002.
With the guidance, co-operation and
support from Development Alternatives, I am sure, our
Institution will move from strength to strength for years to
come.
Col. D.R. Mendiratta,
Principal, Salwan Public School (Aft.
Session), Delhi |
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It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee
E nvironment
is an issue, which has a tremendous importance in the life on
one and all. For many it is still merely a part of the
syllabus
which requires a quick revision before the examination. But
for some it has now become a though provoking agenda, that
evokes them to question and answer their queries. For a long
time I too belonged to the category of those who live in the
bliss of ignorance, It might be hard to believe that the
primary rationale of my joining the Environment Club of my
school was to bear the badge. But being a part of the club and
CLEAN-India has changed my entire view point.
During the five years that I have been
associated with the environment club, I have participated in
several eco-activities which have helped me not only to become
more aware and conscious but also to find solutions to a
several environmental problems.
Many people believe planting a tree is
an easy task, so did I. But once I undertook the task of
planting and nurturing one in our school, I knew it was
altogether a different story. Watering the sapling daily in
the hot weather, giving it manure, protecting it from other
children all made us realise that story does not have a happy
ending with planting, but is just the beginning. And in
between the story you have some tears when a sapling perishes
due to termites, or even naughty kids! But CLEAN-India and our
teachers encouraged us not to give up but plant another
sapling and even try harder. We are proud to say that our
efforts have yielded a greener school and many young trees are
now providing shade and beauty.
Jaspreet Kaur Randhawa,
Class XII, CLEAN-Delhi |
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