SHIMLA: Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu appealed to the people of the state to be part of ‘Earth Hour’ to be observed under the theme 'The Biggest Hour for Earth' on 25th March, 2023.
He said that it was an Endeavour of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to raise awareness about the conservation of nature and climate change - the two biggest threats facing the planet today.
He urged the people of the State to switch off all non-essential lights on 25th March for one hour between 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM to support this mission.
He said this mission would go a long way in creating a better and healthy environment for future generations.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the present State Government is also working in this direction and has initiated effective steps to develop Himachal Pradesh as a ‘Green Energy State’ by 31st March, 2026.
Steps were also taken to encourage the use of electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions in State.
Apart from this private bus operators and truck operators would be given subsidy of 50 percent for purchase of e-buses and e-trucks besides 50 percent subsidy for establishing charging stations.
The Chief Minister said that degradation of the environment was a big challenge globally and the present State Government has gone for a green budget for the year 2023-24.
This will not only conserve the natural environment of the State but also mitigate the problem of climate change.
