‘Comprehensive policy soon to minimise pollution in state’

PATNA: The Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) organized an event at Gyan Bhawan here on the occasion of World Environment Day on Monday.
State environment, forest and climate change minister Tej Pratap and Arvind Kumar Choudhary, principal secretary of the department, were the chief guest and special guest of the event, respectively.
Various state level activities, including essay writing (for classes VI to X), painting (for classes I to X), quiz competition (for classes VI to XII), and a cycle rally were organised in May this year to promote environment protection.
The final round of the quiz competition was held at Gyan Bhawan on Monday. The winners were awarded prizes at the event.
“All efforts are being made for the conservation and promotion of the environment in the state. People’s cooperation is needed to take the mission to the next level,” Tej Pratap said.
He urged the audience to plant at least one sapling and avoid single-use plastic.
“The state government is actively working on technological changes to reduce their impact on the environment. In the next few months, the Bihar government will develop a comprehensive policy to minimise pollution in the state over the next 30-40 years. We must adopt an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. The environment will be saved in the hands of the children of today,” Arvind said.
BSPCB chairman D K Shukla said, “The state government has imposed a complete ban on single-use plastic. Efforts should be made to make up for groundwater harvesting, which has decreased in the 143 blocks of the state.”
This year, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) had made ‘solutions to plastic pollution’ the theme for the World Environment Day.