Environment suffered most since BJP came to power in UP: Akhilesh Yadav

The environment has suffered the most since the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday and accused the government of making tree plantation drive a "joke".

On World Environment Day, he alleged that the BJP government has been making false claims about environmental protection and the "trees have been growing only in government flies".

It was under the Samajwadi government that concrete steps were taken in this direction. It had set a Guinness Book world record in tree plantation while ponds were dug and green parks developed in the Bundelkhand region, he said.

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"In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP government runs tree plantation campaigns every year. But to date, it has not been able to give details about where and how many trees have been planted in which year during his reign, and how many saplings planted are left. In fact, the environment has suffered the most ever since BJP came to power," he said.

The BJP government has squandered the budget under the cover of tree plantation drive, the Samajwadi Party chief alleged in a statement.

"Its latest claim has been planting 30 crore saplings this year. If we go by the claims of the government, there should have been a forest growing in every house. The BJP, which plants the seeds of hatred and lies, are playing with the environment and have made tree plantation a joke," he said.

The forest wealth is facing danger. The imbalance in nature has increased, as a result of which heat is increasing. There is a shortage of different resources and a change is also seen in the season cycle, Yadav said.

"Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath can make any claim he likes but the Niti Ayog has exposed the reality of where the state stands."

Yadav also extended his wishes to all the countrymen on World Environment Day and stressed that environmental protection is indispensable for the earth.