On Saturday, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that the state will come up with a green budget this year, which will aim to protect the ecology of the state.
Citing the occasion of national forest martyrs’ day Bommai said that there are plenty of forest officials who have given up their lives to conserve the ecology and to increase the forest cover.
Karnataka’s forest cover
Further elaborates that Karnataka’s forest cover, about 30 years ago, was about 30-40% which amounts to 43 lakh hectares, but now has lessened to 21.5%
However, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said there will be a green budget which will focus on conserving the ecology of the state, in fact it’s a first-of-its-kind initiative.
Chief Minister views
“I am giving a mandate to the forest and environment department to make an annual assessment of the loss of our natural resources and the total deficit. In the next budget, for the first time, I will introduce a provision to fill the ecological deficit,” the Chief Minister said.
“The deforestation in the last 20 years has increased and we will need to educate the younger generation about the importance of conservation of forests and wildlife. We will have to teach them to adopt a sustainable lifestyle based on needs,” he added.
Environmental budget
According to him, the state has to assess the amount of green space forfeited in the state every year. However, this can be accomplished only through an environmental budget. Moreover, that forests have existed before us, there would be no human existence without them. They are a national treasure which has to be retained.
Pace of forest destruction is scary
“Nature has been destroyed for a long time. Forests destroyed in two decades are more than what was destroyed in the last two millennia. The pace of forest destruction is scary as there would be no rain without forests,” said the CM.
He asked the Forest Department to create awareness on preserving forests. “I am giving a mandate to the forest and environment department to make an annual assessment of the loss of our natural resources and the total deficit. In the next budget, for the first time, I will introduce a provision to fill the ecological deficit,” the Chief Minister said.
