Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 24: The Central Government Pensioners’ Welfare Association (CGPWA), Jammu, in collaboration with BALGRAN, organised an interactive lecture on “Environment Protection and Sustainable Development” for the students of BALGRAN.
The session was led by S D Swatantra, a life member of CGPWA and former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.
This was the ninth lecture in a series by CGPWA, aimed at sharing the experience of retired senior civil servants with underprivileged students.
Swatantra spoke in detail about the importance of preserving the environment while pursuing sustainable development.
He emphasised the role of youth in protecting natural resources and urged students to take responsibility for environmental protection.
He explained five key components of the environment-land, water, air, living organisms, and human-made structures-and highlighted how these are interconnected and currently under stress due to human activities.
The speaker also outlined the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched in 2015, and discussed India’s progress in achieving them.
He said India has achieved about 70 percent of the SDG targets, as per NITI Aayog, but stressed the need for broader cooperation to reach all goals.
Swatantra expressed concern over rising air pollution, deforestation, forest fires, stubble burning, and the use of non-biodegradable materials like polythene, urging students to avoid harmful practices in daily life.
The session concluded with an engaging question-and-answer round, where students actively participated.
The event was moderated by Vinod Raina, President BALGRAN and Prof R D Sharma, former Vice Chancellor, Jammu University.
Among those present were CGPWA General Secretary KB Jandial, Treasurer OP Sharma, Prem Gupta, VK Padha, Chief Patron BALGRAN AK Arora, AK Khajuria, Vinod Gupta, HC Jerath, Ravinder Gupta, and Purshotam Kohli.
Senior members of BALGRAN and school staff, including Director School Sadhna Kachru, Advisor Urmil Arora, and Principal Neelam Sharma, also attended the event.
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