Omkar Dattatray
For the first time in the electoral democracy of Jammu and Kashmir ,the UT’s chief electoral officer and the whole election apparatus are following the directions of the Apex Court of India and the election commission of India’s green initiative .Thus to save the environment from degradation ,the UT is going this time to celebrate green assembly elections and in this regards is planting one lakh saplings as its green initiative to protect environment .It has now become crystal clear that the GOI ,SC,ECI and above all the UT’s election apparatus have become environment friendly and thus are initiating green elections. .It is a welcome development that this time Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections are being connected with the green initiative and so 1 lakh plants are being planted to keep the environment healthy and green .This maiden as well as novel and noble initiative to make the elections green by planting trees is a very encouraging and all the stakeholders including the election staff ,voters and the general populace should take active part in the green initiative to make elections green and to facilitate and involve themselves in planting more and more saplings and meet the deadline of planting one lakh trees to save the environment .It is so good that governments centre ,UT’s ,ECI and Supreme Court have become very conscious and they are serious about the protection of the environment and thus all have taken it very serious and so the UT’s election paraphernalia along with the voters are going to plant one lakh trees to help make the environment green and people friendly .By planting three in this election season ,the election department of Jammu and Kashmir UT is going to plant one lakh trees with the active participation and involvement of the election staff, security forces and the voters to make environment green .This is an open book that degradation of nature and environment is taking place at a fast rate because of urbanization ,industrialization and above all because of the greed of the people. .We need to address all these issues and try to keep environment healthy for the welfare of the population .In this connection all of us including the election department of the UT ,people and the voters should take it upon themselves to plant more and more plants so as to contribute to the safety of the environment which is indispensible for the development of the UT and also for the overall health of the people and for the wellbeing of citizens .The simple fact and hard reality that Government of India ,its EC ,Supreme Court and on their directions ,the UT’s election department is going to fulfill the directions and is going to plant more and more trees to save the environment from degradation and it is a good socio-political development to ensure safety of the environment .Following and adhering to the governments and ECI directive ,all of us should contribute our bit to make the environment people friendly and all the stakeholders should cooperate to make the elections green and for this we should contribute to ensure that environment is made green and is protected from falling into the ditch of degradation and to ensure safety of our environment, we should work with dedication and zest and zeal to make environment safe and people friendly and for this we should supplement governmental efforts tom plant saplings to ensure safety of environment so that all should lead a happy and environment friendly life in order to keep environment healthy in order to contribute to the good of the people .Thus in run up to the long overdue elections ,the UT’s election department is embarking upon the plan of planting 1 lakh trees through polling booths with the aim of making elections green to ensure the safety of the environment .All polling stations are being covered through green initiative to make assembly elections green and fight environmental degradation and usher the green elections to keep the environment safe and sound to make a save environment which can contribute to green elections though for the first time since independence .We cannot afford to disregard and disrespect the environment and so it is the moral and social obligation of us all to contribute to the holy mission of planting one lakh plants by the election department and at all the polling stations so that we are kept healthy ,stronger and happier .The election department with the help of its staff and with the active involvement of the polling staff of all polling stations is going to implement directions and instructions of the Supreme Court and the ECI to plant trees in order to contribute to the safety of the environment and thus is ensuring green elections .The fact is that the elections cannot be colored green but it only implies that through election staff and with the active participation of the electors /voters green initiative of planting trees on a very large scale will be construed as green JK elections for which people are very jubilant and will take active part in planting saplings to ensure protection of the environment which is required for the growth of the people .So voters and others who are potential voters will take part in planting trees in order to make environment safe and thus it can be called green elections and there is no exaggeration about it .In fact J&K election department is embracing the green initiative of the ECI and has embarked on the mission of planting 1 lakh trees in every nook and corner of Jammu and Kashmir in this election season .So drive launched to plant 1 lakh saplings under ‘Green Election Initiative’ in Jammu and Kashmir .To implement green election initiative -a special drive to plant one lakh saplings was commenced on 9 September Sunday with CEO Pandurang K Pole who directed officers to plant more than 100 plants in the premises of polling stations .Pole who kick started the plantation drive from the premises of Modal HSS ,Domana ,in Bhalwal block of Jammu district ,reiterated the officers being made to ensure the environment -friendly plantation drive along with the assembly elections to create a sense of responsibility towards the environment protection among the masses and those participating in the elections .”The directions were given to the officers to plant more than 100 plants in premises of polling station identified as ‘green polling station ‘in each assembly constituency ,whereas rest of the polling stations must plant 10-15 plants each in the premises across J-K so that the target of planting one lakh saplings can be achieved before September 15,”he said .The office of CEO in collaboration with J-K forest department is conducting the plantation drive under the ‘green election initiative’ of the election department Pole asserted that a massive plantation drive is going to take place across the UT to foster environmental stewardship among the electorate to compensate for the impact on the environment due to waste generated during election process .At the end it can be said that ‘Green Election Initiative’ of the election department is the very first ,novel and noble mission of planting trees on a massive scale to save the environment and to create awareness about the need to have safe and people friendly environment and to ensure this we during election season can make great contribution.
(The author is a columnist,social and KP activist)
