New Delhi: The Delhi government will launch a mega campaign for urban farming and hold a roundtable conference on April 25 to discuss the future course of action in its fight against air pollution, Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced on Monday, adding that plans are also afoot to set up ward-level environment-action committees.
He said the horticulture department will be the nodal department for the urban farming campaign, under which people will be encouraged to grow frequently-used fruits, vegetables and kitchen essentials at home, in the hopes that this might increase the Capital's green cover.
To discuss how the campaign can be rolled out, a roundtable conference will be held on April 25 with experts from the Pusa Institute, government officials and other experts, Rai added. The Environment Minister said suggestions have also been received for setting up a district environment protection committee that will work at the municipal ward level to assess the specific problems related to pollution in the wards.
In his briefing on Monday, Rai said that the proposals that are set to be discussed at the roundtable include setting up of Delhi Environment Protection Committee, which will consist of people from various NGOs, RWAs, MLA-Councillor representatives, and environment enthusiasts.
This committee will be responsible for running training programmes, awareness campaigns and getting more people to join urban farming.
Firstly, the government will use master trainers and run a centralised training programme with the help of experts from the Pusa Institute. These people will then go on to train the rest of the population ward-wise all across the Capital on best practices for urban farming.
The Environment department said that once the urban farming concept kicks off, residents will require help sourcing materials like seeds, soil, and other equipment, for which a panel will also be created, from where these materials can be procured. "They'll just need to make one phone call and get all their needs fulfilled from there," Rai said.