Moral responsibility to provide clean environment to children: President Murmu
New Delhi: It is people’s moral responsibility to provide a clean environment to coming generations, President Droupadi Murmu said on Saturday while also highlighting that citizens should contemplate what kind of air their children are breathing; what water they are drinking and whether they are able to experience the natural world.
She was inaugurating a two-day National Conference on ‘Environment – 2025’ organised by National Green Tribunal.
“Elders in every family worry about which school or college their children will study in, and what career they will choose. This worry is justified. But, we all also have to think about what kind of air our children will breathe, what kind of water they will get to drink, whether they will be able to hear the sweet sounds of birds or not, whether they will be able to experience the beauty of lush green forests or not,” she said.
Murmu said that these topics have economic, social, and scientific aspects, but the most important thing is that the challenges related to all these topics also have a moral aspect. “It is our moral responsibility to provide a legacy of a clean environment to the coming generations. For this, we will have to adopt an environmentally conscious and sensitive lifestyle so that the environment is not only protected but also enhanced and the environment can become more vibrant. Balancing clean environment and modern development is both an opportunity and a challenge,” she said.
The President said that Indians believed that nature, like a mother, nourishes us, and we should respect and protect nature. “The basis of the Indian heritage of development is nourishment, not exploitation; protection, not elimination. Following this tradition, we want to move forward toward a developed India,” Murmu said while noting that over the last decade, India has achieved several examples of early completion of its Nationally Determined Contributions as per international agreements.
“The historic decisions given by NGT have a wide impact on our lives, our health, and the future of our earth. She urged the institutions associated with the environment management eco-system and citizens to continuously strive for environmental protection and promotion,” she said.
Speaking on India’s role as a leader in environmental initiatives globally, Murmu said: “Our country and the entire world community have to follow a path that is environment friendly. Only then will humanity make real progress…We all have to make India a developed nation by the year 2047 where the air, water, greenery, and prosperity attract the entire world community,”
The National Conference on ‘Environment – 2025’, being organised by NGT, aims to bring together key stakeholders to discuss pressing environmental challenges, share best practices, and collaborate on future action plans for environmental management. The conference is expected to provide certain action points for policy making.
