16 lakh families in HP would be provided four CFL bulbs each, in order to reduce the domestic consumption of electricity. Expressing concern over global warming, forest minister said that release of carbon oxide and methane gases should be controlled

JP Nadda, forest, environment, science and technology minister said at Shimla today (November 6) that state government has already initiated remedial measures to exercise check over the degradable and bio-degradable waste.


The use of polythene carry bags was banned in 1999, and its implementation has been done in the most stringent manner. Apart from this, 15 per cent discharge of downstream water in the ’run off river’, power projects has been made mandatory in order to protect the biodiversity, flora and fauna in and around the river beds.

Expressing concern over global warming, forest minister said that carbon oxide and methane gases were responsible for increasing the green house effect in the atmosphere, thus leading to global warming.
Hence it was imperative to exercise control and minimise the release of these gases in the atmosphere. The solution to this problem lies in the massive afforestation drive to enhance the green cover and reduce the effect of gases.

Underscoring the need for making the government and semi-government offices paper free, Nadda quoted the example of Gujarat where most of the offices have switched over to computer technology and all the data was being stored in softcopy only. He urged all the departments to gradually minimise the traditional use of paper in the day to day working of the offices.


Referring to forest fires, Nadda said that without the peoples’ participation, it was not possible to control fire in the forests. In many cases, the

people living near the forests have developed the habit of burning dry grass and bushes thinking that the new grass could only be grown by doing so. But they fail to realise that by burning the grass they were, in fact, destroying the precious wild life of the area.