Changing Trends of our Food Habits-Cultural Beliefs and Traditions Eroded.

 

Ranee Om Prakash 

Curator-Flowering Plants, 

Department of Life Sciences,Natural History Museum,
South Kensington, SW7 5BD. U.K.

E-mail: r.prakash@nmh.ac.uk

 The modern era is witnessing new and innovative ways of food consumption viz. vitamins enriched food and organically grown vegetables as a result of which mankind is moving away from what is natural. I describe a few examples of changing trends in our food habits. Gone are the days when we followed the advice of our elders for breakfast, we would have normal porridge made from broken wheat (dalia) or oats. While shopping in supermarkets, we now naturally tend to look for cereal packets with “rich in iron and Vitamin B12” and modern generation is now looking towards foods which are having vital nutrients in the food packaging. A few yoghurts now mention “Vitamin D and Calcium added”. Many cereals like Nachni (Eleusine coracana Gaertn.), Rajgira (Amaranth) are now consumed as healthy diets by way of salads. These are naturally rich in iron and one does not need additional irons and vitamins added to it, these could be simply incorporated in our diets rather than going for artificially enriched foods.

The packaging of such food items is an example showcasing the food items. You have not only various flavoured waters e.g. Lemon, Strawberry in the markets but also vitamin enriched waters. Modern life demands time and less time for preparation and cooking. Markets have many varieties of fast foods available and the use of plastic bags should be discouraged.

Despite the attempt of various government efforts discouraging use of plastic bags, it is a common sight to still see people shopping and carrying items in plastic bags. During my recent trip to the Nilgiris in Southern India, I saw lots of plastic bags everywhere. On mountain slopes, retailers and the market places. Such a waste of inner desire of not to use plastic bags. Inspite of having rubbish bins for throwing away these bags, majority of people throw rubbish by the road sides and they feel no shame or moral responsibility in doing so! The same public if they visit foreign countries, would double check before throwing rubbish and will use rubbish bins. General public should take the initiative themselves of using recyclable bags and not pollute the nature. Plastic is degraded by using microorganisms like Azotobacter sp., Bacillus megaterium, Halomonas sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Ralstonia eutropha (Chee et al. 2010). If you keep sugar in plastic bags at home, you will notice that after a while, the bags start to disintegrate. It is this property of sugar that it is now used for biodegradation of plastic and research in this aspect is being undertaken at some research institutes across the world including India. These plastic bags have somehow taken the place of eroding our traditional beliefs and cultural values. For example, normally people would offer water, some food grains and flowers to “Surya Dev” (Sun God) by way of standing in the river and offering prayers. A lot of times, I have witnessed people throwing these already offered flowers to gods from their homes in plastic bags in the rivers. This not only pollutes the river but also affects the living organisms in the river. Neither the fish get to eat the food they were expecting to have nor the prayer was done properly the way it should have been done. This reflects how our culture and traditions are changing. Not only the beliefs have changed but also the traditions have changed.

It is a good practice to buy unequal sized carrots, cucumbers and other vegetables which are devoid of any fertilisers- organically grown, however now due to the change in our living habits and lifestyle; people tend to choose carrots, cucumbers of equal size and thereby encourage artificial cultivation of fruits and vegetables.

The third international "Fascination of Plants Day" 2015 was celebrated on 18th May across the world. Events like this where botanists can engage with local schools, colleges and  museums to get as many people as possible enthused about plants and their importance in sustainably producing foods, forestry, agriculture, biodiversity and conservation issues should be initiated. Important days like Children’s Day (celebrated on 14th of November in India), Independence Day and local excursions organised by schools/colleges can be used for these kinds of activities. Botanists can also come together to organise bioblitz (an activity of biological surveying with an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area) and citizen science (also known as crowd-sourced science, involves public participation in scientific research) to have short events and projects. Simple projects like recording plant species in the gardens or parks will not only encourage the study of plant sciences and record plant species, but will also contribute to the various checklists and floras. The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) can be used as common umbrella to initiate these kinds of activities all across India. By this way, the botanists can address the key issue of the role of plants in environmental conservation. The numbers of students studying plants sciences across the world especially taxonomy and nomenclature is declining rapidly and it is time that younger generation pick up the skills and expertise from the older generation before the subject is completely wiped out!

The initiative run by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on “Swacha Bharat Abhiyan” is good for social cause and the day India awakens and becomes morally responsible with the thought of “Swacha Bharat” ingrained in minds, India will not be far behind than the other developed countries in the world in being a very neat, clean and beautiful country. A country’s development is measured in terms of economic growth (GDP), a range of socio – economic indicators viz., social well-being, population, quality of life and improvement in human welfare. It is also measured by way of environmental quality –sustainable development.Let us also encourage the government of India to have more initiatives and awareness on environmental conservation and sustainability.

Reference
 Chee, J. Y., Yoga S. S., Lau, N. S., Ling, S. C., Abed R. M. M., Sudesh K. L. 2010. Bacterially Produced Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA): Converting Renewable Resources into Bioplastics. Appl Microbiol & Microbiol Biotech A Mendez Vilas (Ed).

ROLE OF BOTANISTS IN IMPROVING URBAN AIR OF INDIA

Dr Nitesh Joshi* and Ambika Joshi

*Rizvi college of Arts, Science and Commerce ,Associate Professor in Botany,Mumbai

.Email:niteshcjoshi@gmail.com

Jaihind college ,Department of Botany,Associate professor in Botany ,Mumbai.

Email:ambikapurijoshi@gmail.com

Air pollution

India is growing fast since the last couple of decades, with every year new cities being added to the list. Compounded with this development the so called peri- urban areas also starts experiencing the unavoidable menace of air pollution. That pollution of any types is harmful to the human beings and the ecosystems in general is now a very well known fact. The problem of  suspended particulate matter is fast increasing with increasing construction activities in the cities. In such a scenario citizens often ask, the questions, how much air pollution is there in the area and what Plants have been often used to clean our environment. Shri Narendra Modis call for an SWACHH ABHYAN falls under this category. Cleaning of our cities lies not only with public discipline but also with plants. Research has thrown light on various aspects showing how plants can efficiently be used to keep our environments clean , so also how these can effectively warn the citizens of a failing or deteriorating environments. Considerable literature is available in the area of plants and pollution. However at a local level and for all practical purposes there are no clear cut guidelines regarding the use of plants as indicators of air pollution or green belt development. The current article highlights on the guidelines for establishments of an national level indicator for monitoring dust and green belt development.

In India several scientists have worked on effects of air pollution and plants. However there is an urgent need to spread this work to make use for general citizens and municipal corporations and horticulturists all over the country. The learned botanists can come to the rescue in such cases . an attempt is made to answer some of these questions over here.

  
Types and sources of Air pollutants

Plants growing in the ambient environment of urban-industrial area would be exposed to not  only one but to a mixture of many pollutants. According to Rao (1985), the effects of air pollution (gaseous pollutant, acid deposition and particulates) on various levels of ecosystem organization may be summarized as follows:

a) Absorption and accumulation of pollutants in plants and other ecosystem components such as soil surface and ground water.

b) Injury to producers (plants) and consumers (animals) due to pollutant accumulation; for example leaf necrosis in plants and dental fluorosis in animals.

c) Change in number, density and diversity of species and a shift in competition.

d) Loss of stability and reduction in the reproductive ability of species.

e) Degeneration of associations of biotic components.

f) Disruption of biogeochemical cycle.

g) Extension of eroded areas in the landscape.

Plants as Indicators and Biomonitors

Plants are important to maintain ecological balance but they also get affected by air pollution either directly or indirectly.They have been harmonizing nature from the days life appeared on the planet by regulating the concentrations of CO2 in the air and now they are destined to commence a more modern and hazardous role of reducing the quantum of air pollution through adsorption, absorption, accumulation, detoxification and metabolization (Rao, 1980). Bio-indicator may be a plant or an animal which reveals the presence of a substance in its vicinity by showing typical symptoms which can be distinguished from the effects of other natural or anthropogenic stresses (L. Steubing and H. J. Jäger,1982). Being stationary, plants play a very important role in indicating the changes taking place in an environment. Two aspects of Bioindicators in plants are known : Sensitive plants are those which show clear symptoms of pollutant effects even in the lowest concentrations. Accumulator plants are those which readily accumulate specific air polluting substances that can be analysed in the plant material often by physico-chemical methods. This leads to a quantitative determination of  pollution load as that plant then acts a receiver or absorber only, without any injury and is actively involved as a selective capturer of pollutants (Posthumus, 1982).

Phytomonitoring

Different levels of organization of the plant can be used for phytomonitoring, ranging from the single plant (leaf or even plant cell) to the plant association and the ecosystem. Some air pollutants have very low ambient concentrations and are complicated to measure accurately with physical and chemical methods. Plants can accumulate those pollutants to a level that is easier to analyze. Some of the parameters which can be used for phytomonitoring of air quality are Plant growth,Macro characters, micro characters and biochemical characters: The need to use genetically uniform material and uniform culturing practices are also important. Such systems have been used by Chaphekar (1972), Posthumus (1982), Joshi (1990), etc. Standardization of methods is also essential to compare results at different sites, months or years.

Monitoring Dust in a City

Chaphekar et.al., (1995) used leaves of trees like Mangifera indica, Thespesia populnea and Polyalthia longifolia for the estimation of dust fall in 20 different types of localities of Mumbai city in order to monitor airborne dust settling by gravity. They also observed marked reduction in growth of potted plants of Commelina benghalensis transplanted in heavily polluted areas of Mumbai city. Joshi and Joshi (2013) showed that Hyptis suaveolens had high dust capturing capacities among the plants in the city of Mumbai. Recently, Faqih A.G., Joshi N.C. and Joshi A.N. (2014) studied the foliar dust capturing potential of a common plant Pedilanthus tithymaloides growing along road dividers and traffic islands of Mumbai and prepared a foliar dust map of the city based on their study. A co- relation between foliar dust fall and traffic count was found to be positive. Collecting the dust from the leaf and then representing it as dust in gm/m2 is an well accepted method , using either filter paper or crucible.

Further it was observed that:

1. The amount of dust is never constant in the atmosphere. It keeps changing with respect to variations in place, time, season, climate, etc. During the field work it was noticed that foliar dust recorded of various plant species differ at different sites and no plant behaves same at all sites i.e. the plant which is the best dust capturer at one site may be the worse in holding dust at other sites. Hence, each plant behaves independently at various sites without any trend or pattern. This may also because of varying wind speed, humidity, proportion of vehicular and industrial exhausts, etc.

2. In order to determine the best plant for capturing and retaining the atmospheric dust, screening of dust to the plants in a constant system (surrounding) was required. A special dust fumigation chamber was fabricated to analyze the plants under controlled and simulated conditions.

3. A dust chamber is used to explore the dust retention capacities of various trees , shrubs , herbs (Chapekar and Mancharkar, 2007). The plants were screened to dust under controlled (or still) and simulated conditions. The amount of dust was estimated to determine the dust capturing and dust retaining capacities of the plant species. The tendency to hold dust on leaf surface was measured in terms of DRI (Dust Retention Index). Many plants were found to get higher DRI values without fan but some were showing higher DRI values even with fan. The plants that receive and hold more dust without running fan are said to be good dust capturers. 

4. DRI values are percentage values of Dust captured and Dust retained on the foliar surfaces of various species. A list of plant species, herbs, shrubs, trees with their DRI will help in planning the type of plants to be grown along road dividers, residential areas, highways and gardens. Ficus benghalensis L., Ficus benjamina L. var. nuda (Miq.) M. F. Barrett, Lantana Camara L., Mangifera indica L., Muntingia calabura L. Pedilanthus tithymaloides Poit. Trema orientalis (L.) Blume, Ziziphus jujuba Mill.. Ervatamia divaricata (L.), burk with curled leaves, Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertn are some plants with high Dust retention indices. However wind plays an vital role in the dust capturing capacities.

5. Cities in India are undergoing several changes with the introduction of mass rapid transport systems, construction activities of buildings, flyovers and highway renewal. The plants during the study reflected the same with high amounts of dust in areas with constructions activities or around the vicintiy of such areas. Therefore it is suggested to have green belt around road dividers with plants which can be trimmed as well as with high DRI. Plantations with a big canopy alternating with a shorter one are suggested. Ficus benjamina, Pedilanthes tihymalides, Nerium odorum and Bougainvillea species for example.

6. Around industrial areas the situations become complex with several industries placed together. Green belt development in such areas should focus on the utility of the area and the principle should be that the installation factory shouldn’t be seen and the trees should encircle the factory around 50 M.

Choice of plants for roadsides including traffic island should be in accordance with the width of the road. There should be a formation of screen between traffic and roadside residences. The plants should include shrubs and trees, with intermixing of ornamental herbs like Aralia. Another parameter which is important in choice of plant species for green belt development is 'Air Pollution Tolerance Index'. Several agencies and researchers have worked on this area and the data can be used by locals for developemet of green belt. For dust it is also the morphological parameters which play an important role dust retention. Vegetation provides a major filtration and reaction surface which acts to trap particulates. Through sedimentation, particles are usually deposited on the upper surfaces of leaves, particularly the larger particles.

The interception and retention of atmospheric particles is highly variable and primarily dependent on: 

1) the size, shape, and surface texture of the Particles, 

2) the size, shape, and surface texture of the intercepting plant part, and 

3) the micro- and ultra microclimatic conditions surrounding the plant. 

For particulate removal, species with high leaf circumference-to-area and surface-to-volume ratios, along with leaf surface roughness may be recommended. It may be concluded that within their limits of tolerance, plants absorb pollutants and to that extent remove air pollutants(Hill,1971). Several worker have published their work in other parts of the world on air pollution and its effects on plants (Manning ,W.J, and Fedder,J.(1980), and Yunus, M. and K. J. Ahmad, (1978) ).

Concept of Green belt 

Green belts are thought to be effective in such scenarios, where green plants form a surface capable of absorbing air pollutants and forming sinks for pollutants. Leaves with their vast areas in a tree crown, absorb pollutants on their surface, thus effectively reduce their concentration in the ambient air. Plants grown in such a way as to function as pollutant sinks, are collectively referred to as green belts (Kapoor, et al, 1996; Onkar, 2006 and S.C Sharma,2009 ). 

Plant scientists favour the development of green belts for use as parks within large urban industrial areas. Most city planners look to the green belt as a park system to provide areas for recreation and simply to break the monotony of the urban complex. Some have stressed the potential screening effect of green belts to remove air pollutants and thus serve to benefit human health. Commonly the green belt as such has been taken as a strip or a piece of land consisting of plants belonging to a few species, may be common or beautifully flowering ones for removal of air pollutants. Many scientist have also suggested the use of green belt, which is rows of trees for reducing pollution originating from industrial operations (Gupta V. K. and R. K. Kapoor, 1992;Hanson & Thorne, 1970; Warren, 1973; Ganguly 1976 and Chaphekar,1995). 

Plant species suitable for green belt 

This new approach has evolved in recent years which aim at growing plants in and around industrial areas and roadsides. And for that, selection of tree species is a task that requires sound knowledge of the plants and their response towards environmental stresses, especially dust fall & emission of gaseous pollutants. Capacity of plants to reduce air pollution is well-known.To check the spread of air pollutants emitted from industrial complexes, it is recommended by many scientists that vegetation be grown around such areas . It is known that plants differ considerably in their response towards pollutants (Rao, 1985). Some are highly sensitive & show immediate injury symptoms while others are hardy and tolerant. Tolerant plant species can function as pollution sinks & therefore a number of environmental benefits can be derived by planting tolerant species. They will help to reduce overall pollution load and make the air free from pollutants and particulate matter. Therefore appropriate selection of tolerant plant species, which can withstand pollution, may result in pollution mitigation. Parameters have been suggested for the choice of plantations of green belts, for e.g. , Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) values, ( Singh and Rao,1983) and Dust Retention Index (DRI) for different plant species have been worked by Chaphekar and Mancharkar, 2007, in Pune. Dust interception capacity of plants depends on their surface geometry, phyllotaxy, and leaf external characteristics such as hairs, cuticle etc., height, and canopy of trees.

Removal of pollutants by plants from air is by three means, namely absorption by the leaves, deposition of particulates and aerosols over leaf surfaces, and fallout of particulates on the leeward side of the vegetation because of the slowing of the air movement (Tiwari, 1994). A comprehensive report is prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board of India on green belt development (C.P.C.B, 2000). The work carried out by this laboratory at Rizvi College , Botany Department financed by the University Grants Commission under the title “Studies on monitoring Suspended Particulate Matter using urban plants and understanding their Green Belt Potentials”, highlighted the importance of roadside plants, to monitor dust and types of plants species effective in reducing dust pollution . Elsewhere also work done by ecology department  of Pune University highlighted the important dust capturing capacities of certain avenue trees and at Institute of Science, Mumbai in the past . Plants like Nerium odorum, Pedilanthes tithymaloides, Ficus benjamina, Bougainvillea spectabliis growing on road dividers all over the country were found to be effective dust retainers.

References
 

1. Morawska L, Salthammer T. Indoor Environment: Airborne Particles and Settled Dust. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. 450 p. (2003)
2. Rao, D. N. Plants and particulate pollutant. Air pollution and plants.A State-of-The-Art Report. Ministry of Environment and Forests Dept. of Environ. Govt. of India, New Delhi Eds. G. V. Subramanyam, D. N. Rao, C. K. Varshney and D.K. Biswas. (1985).
3. Posthumus, A.C.Biological indicators of air pollution. In: UNSWORTH, M.H., ORMROD, D.P.(eds.): Effects of Gaseous Air Pollution in Agriculture and Horticulture. Butterworth Scientific, London, 27–42. 1982.
4. Steubbing L., Fangmier, A., and Both, R. Effects of SO2, NO2 and O3 on population Development and Morphological and physiological parameters of nature herb layer species in a beech forest. Environmental Pollution; 58: 281-302. (1989).
5. Steubing and H. J. Jäger (ed.): Monitoring of air pollutants by plants. Methods and problems. Proceedings of the International Workshop, Osnabrück (F. R. G.), September,. Tasks for vegetation science 7. 163 pp. The Hague/Boston/London: Dr. W. Junk Publ. 1981
6. Joshi.N.C .Experimants in phytomonitoring of urban atmosphere.Ph.d TheseisUnivesirty of Mmbai. 1990
7. steubing ,L. and . Jager.J. Monitoring of air pollutants by plants. W.Junk publishers,Hague. 1982
8. Chaphekar, S. B.. Effect of atmospheric pollutants on plants in Bombay. J. Biol. Science 15 : 1-6 .1972
9. Chaphekar, S. B. Protocols for phytomonitoring in industrial areas in tropical mansoonal region in Bioindicators of Environmental Healths. Proc. 7th Int. Bioindicators symposium, Munawar, M; O. Hanninen; S. Roy; N. Munawar; L. Karenlampi; and D. Brown (Eds.) Kupio, Finland, SPB Acad. Publ., The Netherlands, pp 195.1995.
10. Shetye, R. P., and Chaphekar, S. B.Some estimations on dust fall in the city of Bombay, using plants. Vol. 4: pp. 61-70. In: Progress in Ecology. V. P. Agarwaland V.K. Sharma (Eds.). Today and Tomorrow’s Printers and publishers, New Delhi. (1980)

11. Chapekar and Mancharkar . National Conference on “Management of Urban Vegetation”, 2007. Wilson College, Mumbai. 2007
12. Smith, W. H. Pollutant uptake by plants. In Treshow,M.Ed. Air pollution and plant life. New york ;john wiley and sons.pp417-450. 1984
13. Bennett JH, Hill AC. Interactions of Air Pollutants with Canopies of Vegetation. Responses of Plants to Air Pollution. Edited by JB Mudd and TT Kozlowski. New York, Academic Press, , pp 273-306. 1975
14. Yunus, M. and K. J. Ahmad, . Effect of air pollution on some plants. Proc. Internatl symp. Environ. Agents and their Biol. Effects. Hyderabad. 1978.
15. T.A.Mansfield. Effects of air pollutants on plants.cambridge uinv.press.1976
16. Faqih A.G., Joshi N.C. and Joshi A.N. International Journal of Research. 3(2):61-64.2014
17. Joshi and Joshi ( 2013)
18. Manning ,W.J,and Fedder,J. Pants as indiactors and boimonitors. In;biomonitoring of air pollutants with plants.Appl.sci.pub.London. 1980
19. Onkar J. Chakre. Choice of Eco-friendly Trees in Urban Environment to Mitigate Airborne Particulate Pollution.J. Hum. Ecol., 20(2): 135-138 .2006.
20. Kapoor, et al.Guidelines for develpometn of green belts.final report to CPCB. 1996 

21. S.C.Sharma. Urban pollution and solution. Environews .july,.ISEB.2009
22. Warren,J.L. Green space for air pollution control.N,C,State University sch, for, Resour.Tech.Rep. 50.Raleigh.N.C. from Novak (1988). 1973
23. Hanson & Thorne. A partial solution -plant trees. Lasca.leaves.1970
24. Singh, S.K. and D.N. Rao. Evaluation of plants for their tolerance to air pollution. Proceedings of the Symposium on Indian Association for Air Pollution Control, (SIAAPC’83), New Delhi, pp: 218-224 1983
25. Gupta V. K. and R. K. Kapoor . Attenuation of air pollution by green belt. Optimisation of density of tree plantation. Conference on Precipitation Scavenging and Atmosphere Surface Exchange, Washington, D. C. U.S.A.1992.
26. Gupta V. K. and R. K. Kapoor . Attenuation of air pollution by green belt. Optimisation of density of tree plantation. Conference on Precipitation Scavenging and Atmosphere Surface Exchange, Washington, D. C. U.S.A.
27. Ganguly. A Proposal for an national programme for developemt of perennial green envelope and large scale palntation. Scavenger.6.8-17.1976
28. Tiwari, S. L.. Studies of Air Pollution Tollerance Indices of Some Planted Trees in Urban Areas of Bhopal with Reference to Eco-planning of Industrial Areas Ph.D. Thesis, Barkatulha Univ., Bhopal.
29. C.P.C.B . Guidelines for development of greenbelts.Moef. New Delhi .2000
30. Yunus, M. and K. J. Ahmad, (1978). Effect of air pollution on some plants. Proc. Internatl symp. Environ. Agents and their Biol. Effects. Hyderabad .1978.
31. Alkama G Faqih, Nitesh C Joshi andeAmbika N Joshi . Phytomonitoring of Dust using Pedilanthus tithymaloides Poit. Paper Published in International Journal of Research. Vol. 3. No. 2. 61-64. Jan-Jun 2014, ISSN: 2231-6124.2014
32. Joshi.N.C .Experiments in phytomonitoring of urban atmosphere. 1990 

33. Joshi Nitesh and Joshi AmbikaDust monitoring potentials of ruderal vegetation of Mumbai. Journal of Industrial Pollution Control. Vol 29 , issue 2, pg 255.2013

Ped Lagao Desh Bachao (Plant a Tree and Save Country)

Abhishek Kanojia

Kirori Mal College , Delhi University.(Bsc.Botany III YR)

When we talk about SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN we should consider not only the cleanliness. We should also cover the pollution problem. Not only soil and water pollution but air pollution in which botanists can help in better way . Botanists have  knowledge about plants, and can educate people in crop and other green waste management of plant origin which may include how to do composting, how one can install gobar gas plant in nearby society or village house where there this technique is still unknown . Also we can create awareness about the harmful effect of burning leftover in farming fields to farmers and also our city people, gardeners about the burning of green as well as dry leaves in parks which create many problems because of the gases released during the burning of the same .We can educate people about the importance of plants ,by making them aware about that the fruit they eat have seeds which having the potency to give rise the whole tree. People ate fruit with immense pleasure of mango , imli, jamun, papaya but after eating we just throw away their seeds,  we can appeal our countrymen to sow that seeds in near by parks or any available space so that at same time can contribute in purifying air quality of India. All botanist can visit to nearby schools especially from which they are alumni and help in setting up garden especially medicinal or herbal garden with the help of skilled gardener.We can help in park adoption scheme. By helping them in scientific way about the plant and there effects. We can help govt in setting new policy or Scheme "EK GHAR EK PEDH"(एक घर एक पेड़) suppose from 125 Crore Indians if 5-10% of population adopt this scheme can lead to grater achievement. 

After this if we talk about digital India,  botanist can help in this scheme by making e-literature of plants related text ,books. We can make some resourceful material about plant resource utilization in which we can tell people about the therapeutic effects of plants . We can help in making virtual herbarium . So that in coming years there should be less wastage of plants. 

If we talk about aadarsh garam yojna I think adarsh garam should be a village with no waste. Means waste of some process can act as raw material for another process, there should be renewable source of energy, zero green waste from houses as vegetables fruit left over food can be food for animals , the dung of animals can be used to set up gobar gas plants . The plastic should be banned .with some amount of permanent green cover in the village. 

With regard to  Make in India programme we should think about what botanist can do or make in India.We can create the some great varieties which yields so much to meet the nation need and can be exported as well, especially we can develop high yielding varieties of pulses so that in coming years there is no need of importing pulses. We import different type of orchids from other countries, can't we set up certain Institute which can create certain varieties of orchid which can grow in Indian climate other than northeastern part of India where they naturally grow. Today most of the ayurvedic species of plant are endangered we can set up certain machinery for the protection of these germ-plasms. We can help the jute industry to produce so much that people use jute bags instead of polythene bags which is creating tremendous amount of problems. 

We may suggest to the prime minister to bring a scheme where  state chief minister, members of parliament and members of legislative assembly actively participate in environmental activities to give right message to people that Government  is doing something for the environment. And I always says that there can be tremendous amount of pollution problem ...but solution is one plant a tree. ....."PEDH LAGAAO DESH BACHAAO".......