Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said Friday it is imperative to combat land degradation in rural areas along with the fight against air pollution in cities.
Addressing an event on the occasion of Desertification and Drought Day, the minister said he feels women can play a big role in land management.
India aims to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 to achieve an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. "We have already accomplished a considerable part of it...and we will strive to achieve the target before schedule," he said.
"The country saw a transformation in the last seven years in terms of last-mile delivery and targeted delivery. Be it the benefit of Ujjwala scheme, opening of bank accounts or vaccination...and recently we achieved the target of 10 percent ethanol blending in petrol 5 months before schedule," the minister said.
Land degradation is one of the major challenges confronting the world and the involvement of the public will be crucial as India builds the road map for combating desertification, he said. Yadav also said India increased drip irrigation significantly and distributed soil health cards to 23 crore farmers in the last eight years which has helped increase the fertility of soil.
