We Are Throwing Away Our Health and Future With Plastics, Says Environment Minister

Delhi, a city known for being one of the most polluted cities in the world, might be showing the way to the rest of India in wetland restoration. The revival of nearly 30 wetlands and water bodies to support Yamuna's ecosystem has drawn over 190 species of resident and migratory birds back to Delhi, said Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Vinai Kumar Saxena.

“During peak floods we will be able to retain about 1.45bn litres of water with this initiative," Saxena said at the event organised by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the occasion of the World Environment Day. According to Saxena, about 7 lakh trees and 10mn zebra grass plants have been planted to restore Yamuna floodplains.

Held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi under the theme One Nation, One Mission: End Plastic Pollution, the event highlighted important environmental issues, with plastic pollution taking the centre stage.

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said, "We cannot deny that plastic has become large part of everyday lives, whether it is food packaging or electronic items. It is everywhere and its responsible management is the biggest challenge.”

He added, “The plastic water bottles and food packaging that we throw carelessly goes into our vast oceans. Through microplastics and nanoplastics, this garbage pollutes our soil and water. It puts our health at risk.” Referring to the ban of single-use plastic in 2022, Union minister urged all the attendees to stop using them immediately.

Also present at the event, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta stressed on the plastic pollution caused by the development in the country and the individual responsibility of every citizen to curb it. She said, “Gradually with development, plastic has become a part of our everyday lives. Today, the condition is such that our blood also has plastic particles which become the reason of diseases like cancer.”

Referring to the towering landfills, LG Saxena claimed that approximately 7.5mn metric tonnes of waste have been processed and removed.

Concretisation of Aravali Hills

Saxena said that Aravali Green Wall Project, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 5, will establish 1,000 nurseries and plant 100mn trees across the Aravali region spread across four states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The chief ministers of all the four states have participated in the initiative to make region greener, said the environment minister.

LG Saxena also highlighted the rapid concretisation of the Aravali hills severely impacting all the surrounding states. He said, “Maatra Nursery is also being inaugurated today. This initiative is expected to bring about a major transformation across the entire Aravali region.”

In the past three years, around 21mn trees have been planted including species such as chinar, sandalwood, cherry blossom, bamboo, Meghalaya’s labyrinth and turmeric for the first time.

Environment minister said, “To increase the forest cover in the city, we have come up with Nagar Van Yojana. I request the Delhi government to send us proposals for urban forests. To increase participation of local communities, the Delhi government should design such places, at least on every empty land."

Yamuna Restoration

Talking about the condition  of Yamuna in Delhi, CM said, “Today, Yamuna is just a stream of floating plastic waste,” while also adding that the desilting initiated by the government resulted in the removal of 20 lakh metric tonnes of silt, 75% of which was plastic waste.

Environment minister also talked about Yamuna river during his address. He said, “The state of Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi is dire.” He further added, “In sometime, we will sit with the chief ministers and officials of the three states and work together to clean Yamuna.”