The ruling Janata Dal-United in Bihar has a green idea - plant trees to enter the party fold. Any person wanting to join the party needs to plant a sapling and furnish photographic evidence of it. An ID is then generated for each sapling and a three-monthly review is conducted to ensure that it is well taken care of.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hit upon the idea during his tour of a village in Bhagalpur last year where he found people planting a sapling on birth of a girl child. The concept was to celebrate birth of girl and also increase greenery.
"Anyone who wants to join JD-U or renew his membership, must plant a sapling and provide a proof of this," JD-U national spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari told PTI.
Buoyed by success of 'Harit Bihar Abhiyan' launched in the state last year, the party is mulling to extend it for members in other parts of the country too.
"If this experiment proves successful in Bihar, we will think of emulating it in other parts of the country too," Tiwari said. His party colleague Monazir Hassan, member of Parliament, sounded more optimist saying, "If Nitish Kumar becomes the PM tomorrow the experiment would be made a major policy issue."
The CM decided to make it a party programme linking it with membership.
Tiwari and Hassan said the target is to enroll 50 lakh members in the party till next year and if thing go as planned, we will be able to add as many new trees in Bihar which is left with a thin forest cover after Jharkhand was carved out of it in 2000.
"Every member is required to furnish a photograph as proof of the tree he has planted and it will be further verified by our office bearers. An ID is generated for each sapling and a three-monthly review is conducted to ensure that it is well taken care of," Hassan said.
Bihar's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Shyam Rajak termed the drive a "noble idea" to overcome scant forest coverage of the state. "It is a noble idea to ensure that Bihar's green cover increases," he said over phone from Patna.