GUWAHATI:
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will launch the Lifestyle for Environment – Mission LiFE – in a programme in Guwahati on March 21 to nudge individual and collective action to protect and preserve the environment.
This was informed by state science and technology and climate change minister Keshab Mahanta during a zero-hour notice from AGP member Ramendra Narayan Kalita on the third day of the budget session of the state assembly on Tuesday.
Mission Life was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar in Gujarat’s Kevadia on October 20, 2022.
“Mission Life was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 in Glasgow on November 1, 2021, as a mass movement for mindful and deliberate utilization, instead of mindless and destructive consumption to protect and preserve the environment,” Mahanta said.
Mission LIFE aims to be India’s signature initiative at the United Nations to protect and preserve the environment.
“Today, there is a need for all of us to come together and take Lifestyle For Environment forward as a campaign. This can become a mass movement towards an environmentally conscious lifestyle,” Mahanta said.
“With the implementation of this mission, at least 80 per cent of all villages and urban local bodies are aimed to become environment-friendly by 2028,” the minister said.
Earlier, AGP MLA Ramendra Narayan Kalita wanted to know what action has been initiated by the government to control the air pollution in Guwahati.
Citing a newspaper report featuring the high air pollution level in Guwahati, Kalita said five cities of the state figured among the most-polluted places in the country based on data by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
In his reply, the minister said the data on the air quality index (AQI) of the city for February, during which eight days were categorised as very poor’, 10 as poor’, nine as moderate’ and only one as satisfactory’.
Among the remedial measures being taken, the minister said afforestation drive in the surrounding hills, modernisation of the public transport system and changes in people’s lifestyle conducive to the environment were being pursued.
Stating that there are various causes for low air quality, emissions from vehicles and dust particles in the air from various sources were the primary reasons, the minister shared data on the air quality index for February, during which eight days were categorised as very poor, 10 as poor, nine as moderate and only one as satisfactory.
“Sand from the Brahmaputra, dust from surrounding hills, construction works and almost no rainfall during the winters had aggravated the situation,” he added.