Delhi University has decided to shift gears on the issue of pollution and environment and made it mandatory for all its students to plant at least one tree in the coming academic year 2021-22. This programme is appropriately called “Environmental Education to Environmental Action”.
This tree can be planted anywhere in the country and will be a part of the DU’s move for “environmental education to environmental action at the ground level”, said the officials.
In a statement, Vikas Gupta, DU Registrar said: “From the coming academic session it has now become compulsory for every student to plant at least one tree anywhere in the country during the course of their study. This will be applicable at the undergraduate, postgraduate and MPhil/PhD level. The programme will be scientifically monitored and evaluated by the respective colleges, centres and departments.”
The notification to this effect which was issued makes it mandatory for the student to plant one native tree in their native place or place of stay and submit its GPS coordinates and site location with a picture of the plant. The picture needs to have a placard displaying the details of the sapling and the student. This will help in maintaining a record of these trees.
Going beyond planting of the sapling, DU expects the student to do periodic monitoring and submit pictures and report every six months. Further, in case the sapling dies, it needs to be replaced.
The EEEA programme was launched last month with the planting of a sapling in DU premises.
Talking about this initiative to duupdates.in Dinbandhu Sahoo, Professor and Director of the Centre for Himalayan Studies said India has 28 trees per person as compared to 422 trees per person in the world. He added with each student planting a tree, the numbers will double in five years.
