Dehradun: Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan held a meeting with the officials of the concerned departments regarding carbon credit in the Secretariat on Monday. The Chief Secretary said that carbon credit can play an important role as a new source of income for the state. He took information about the work being done by all the departments towards carbon credit.
The Chief Secretary directed that the Environment Department will act as the nodal department for carbon credit in the state. He said that carbon credit is very important for a hilly state like Uttarakhand, whose maximum land area is covered with forest, because it not only helps in environmental protection, but also creates new opportunities for economic and social development. Farmers and local communities of Uttarakhand can earn carbon credits and get additional income by selling them in the national and international market.
The Chief Secretary said that there are immense possibilities of carbon credit in the Forest, Agriculture and Cooperative Department. He directed the Cooperative Department to work towards carbon credits by including Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) under it. He asked the Forest Department to work towards carbon credit and green credit at a fast pace. He also directed the Agriculture Department and Dairy Development Department to work on carbon credit. He said that this will protect biodiversity with the participation of local communities and promote sustainable lifestyle. Along with new employment opportunities for the youth in the hilly areas, farmers will also get an opportunity for additional income.
On this occasion, Principal Secretary R. Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretary Dr. B.V.R.C. Purushottam, Vinod Kumar Suman, C. Ravishankar, Sridhar Babu Addanki, Additional Secretary Vineet Kumar and Himanshu Khurana along with representatives of NABARD and other senior officials were present.
