Chief Minister launched 'Prana Vayu Devta Pension Scheme' | 30 Oct 2023

Why In News?

On October 26, 2023, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal formally inaugurated the pension scheme for 3,810 trees under the 'Prana Vayu Devta Pension Scheme'. Under the scheme, all these trees will be given a pension of Rs 2750 annually.

Key Points:

• The Chief Minister launched the Prana Vayu Devta Pension Scheme during a press conference organized to commemorate the completion of 9 years of the state government.
• It is noteworthy that Haryana is the first state in the country to implement such a scheme, the objective of which is to conserve healthy trees older than 75 years.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that if there is a tree of 75 years or more in the courtyard of someone's house, then he can apply for pension by going to the forest department office of his respective district. The application will be evaluated by a committee and pension will be given to the beneficiary after verification of all the conditions.
• Under this scheme, 3,810 eligible trees of 75 years of age or more were identified by the district level conservation committees in the state. The annual pension amount of these Prana Vayu Devta Pension trees is Rs 2750. This amount will be deposited in the account of the tree protector for the maintenance and care of the tree. There will also be an annual increase in this pension amount in line with the old age respect allowance.
• The selected Prana Vayu Devta trees include about 40 species, of which Peepal, Banyan, Neem, Mango, Jaal, Gular, Krishna Kadamba, Pilkhan etc. are prominent. All these trees are Indian and have immense ecological importance.
• These old trees stand on various lands, such as private, panchayat, institutional and government properties. Trees standing on forest land are not included in this scheme.