Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is committed to achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2050, two decades ahead of India’s national target, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, adding that as the State enters a new phase of growth, sustainable models of development are essential to ensure progress without compromising environmental protection.
Kerala’s unique geography, with the Western Ghats on one side and an extensive coastline on the other, plays a crucial role in shaping the State’s socio-economic progress, he noted.
Inaugurating the award ceremony for the best “Pachathuruthu” (Green Isles) projects under the Haritha Keralam Mission on World Ozone Day, the Chief Minister said the awards should inspire greater commitment to ecological initiatives and serve as models for others.
He pointed out that the Haritha Keralam Mission, launched as part of the Nava Kerala Karma Padhathi, has in the past decade emerged as a national model for environmental protection.
The Mission’s “Ini Njan Ozhukatte” (Let Me Flow Again) campaign has rejuvenated thousands of water bodies, restored smooth flow in over 92,000 km of canals and 412 km of rivers, revived more than 29,000 ponds and 24,000 tanks, and created over 76,000 temporary and 737 permanent check dams.
The Pachathuruthu programme, launched in 2019 at Vengode in Thiruvananthapuram district, has now expanded to 1,272.89 acres with 4,030 ecological islets, including mangrove, bamboo, medicinal plant and sacred grove models.
Similarly, the “Oru Thai Nadam” mass tree-planting campaign has so far resulted in the planting of six million saplings out of the targeted one crore.
Kerala is already experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change caused by rising greenhouse gases and global warming, the Chief Minister said.
While global cooperation is necessary to address this, the State cannot wait for others and must take proactive measures on its own, he added.
The Pachathuruthu initiative, which converts fallow and unused lands into biodiversity-rich ecological islets, represents a practical intervention to reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate the effects of climate change, he explained.
He further stressed that the State has institutionalised a governance culture that ensures projects are taken from announcement to completion, with the Pachathuruthu scheme standing as a clear example of this sustained approach.
Public participation has been central to all efforts under the Haritha Keralam Mission, and a sense of ownership among the people has been successfully instilled, he said.
“We have created awareness that biodiversity must be protected and nurtured, and this sense of responsibility must be further strengthened,” the Chief Minister added.
