Current Affairs

Asking people to opt for public transport, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit today said her government will develop more cycling and walking tracks across the city as part of its eco-friendly initiatives.

"There should be few cars and I urge you to use public transport more," Dikshit said while speaking at an award function organised under Centre for Science and Environment's (CSE) Green School Programme.

She said her government was "developing cycling and walking tracks" as part its eco-friendly initiatives.

"Development has given rise to our demand but we need to limit them as resources are limited, time has come for us to start practising what we preach," Dikshit said.

The Green School awards, instituted in 2006, are given to schools which excel in their natural resources management.

"I am a firm believer that children are the ones who will bring change in the country," Dikshit said.

Actress Sharmila Tagore, who was also present on the occasion, felt that the awards are a fantastic idea to combine fun and education.

"It's wonderful to see people doing something about natural resources which are not inexhaustible. Even I will learn something from these children who are agents of change," Tagore said.

About the initiative, CSE director Sunita Narain said "this is a programme where we become the change".

"We have to demand change and these schools are the changemakers," she said.

The 2009 awards were divided into two categories, national and state, and saw the trend that semi-urban and middle-rung schools are India's greenest.