Delhi govt to train women in urban farming, to set up a vet college

Sisodia also announced that the government will establish the city’s first government veterinary college.

Published on: Mar 27, 2022, 06:10:13 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok, New Delhi

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The Delhi government will conduct sessions across all municipal wards in the city to train women in urban farming and set up a veterinary college for the treatment of pets, finance minister Manish Sisodia announced as part of the Delhi Budget 2022-23,

The government allocated ₹266 crore total outlay for the environment sector. (UNSPLASH)

Presenting the Delhi Budget with the basic theme of Rozgar (employment) on Saturday in Delhi assembly, finance minister Manish Sisodia said the state will create nearly 100,000 jobs in the next five years in the environment sector, including 25,000 jobs for women under the smart urban farming initiative. The government allocated ₹266 crore total outlay for the environment sector.

Sisodia also announced that the government will establish the city’s first government veterinary college. “Veterinary science is a great need of this era as it not only protects the health of cattle and domestic animals but also protects human health by screening and controlling zoonotic diseases. Delhi has a large number of pets who require health care. To meet this need, I propose a new scheme in the budget for the establishment of Delhi’s first Government Veterinary College for the better treatment of all types of animals,” the finance minister said.

Sisodia said providing clean air and water for future generations was an integral part of the Delhi government’s vision of 2047, which will include the creation of green jobs along the way.

A new policy is also to be introduced in 2022-23 to achieve the target of taking the installed capacity of solar rooftops to 2,500MW, from which 40,000 jobs are expected to be created for sales, construction work, electrical work, technicians and engineers in the sector, Sisodia said.

“The government will launch the ‘Smart Urban Farming’ initiative in association with the Indian Agricultural Research Institute,” said Sisodia on Saturday.

“This will be the biggest initiative of its kind for any state in India, where the Delhi government will organise workshops across Delhi’s mohallas and will make ‘Smart Urban Farming’ a mass movement,” he added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More