Increase Bihar's greencover to 17%, says CM Nitish Kumar

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday asked the officials concerned to work for increasing the state's green cover from existing 15% to 17%.
Addressing a function to mark 'Jal Jeevan Hariyali Diwas', Nitish said the state was left with just 9% of green cover after its bifurcation. "Massive plantation drives launched in 2012 saw the plantation of as many as 22 crore saplings in coming years. The state's green cover has now reached 15%. We want to bring it to 17%," he said.
The CM appealed to the people to plant saplings near their homes. "Increase in greenery has resulted in lovely surroundings in the state," Nitish said. He asked the officials concerned to launch massive awareness campaigns across the state and expedite the planation drive to boost greenery.
The CM looked very anguished over the increasing trend of stubble burning across the state and asked the officials to launch extensive campaigns to put a check on it. "Earlier, such incidents were limited only to four places in the state. However, it has now spread to many districts, including Patna and Nalanda. We must tell the farmers that stubble burning is bad for land fertility," Nitish said.
He also asked the officials concerned to remove encroachments from water bodies and renovate the wells, ponds and other such water bodies to store rainwater. The CM said at least 18,259 water bodies have been freed from encroachments in the state so far. He laid stress on promoting solar energy.