Haryana mulls giving 10 marks to Class-12 students for planting trees

CHANDIGARH: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday announced that his government is toying with the idea of motivating students to plant trees by giving 10 additional marks to Class 12 students in final assessment.

Addressing people on the occasion of state-level Van Mahotsav held through video conferencing, Khattar cited the example of Philippines where it is mandatory for every student to plant trees in order to get their graduation degree.

Khattar said that in a bid to encourage students to plant trees in Haryana too, a possibility of granting at least 10 additional marks to class 12 students in final assessment is being explored by the education department so as to motivate students to plant more and more trees.

Under the Paudhgiri Abhiyan, ₹50 is given as an incentive every six months to the children studying from classes 6 to 12 who take care of their planted sapling for three years.

Calling upon the people of state to take “green pledge” by planting at least one tree during their lifetime to increase the green cover, Khattar said protecting the environment has always remained the utmost priority of his government.

“This year we have set a target of planting 3 crore saplings. I would urge each one of you to become a part of the state government’s plantation campaign to ensure the betterment of mother earth’s heath,” Khattar said. Quoting “matsya-purana”, the chief minister said: “A pond equals ten wells, a reservoir equals ten ponds, while a son equals ten reservoirs, and a tree equals ten sons.” The CM said that the forest area of Haryana should be 20 per cent of the total geographical area because Haryana is a plain state.