DW BUREAU / chandigarh Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal while addressing the 73rd State Level Van Mahotsav at Saraswati Van in Kurukshetra on Tuesday said that along with planting more and more saplings, we should also take a pledge to preserve and protect them. Haryana Government has started the Darshan Lal Jain Environment Award for the people who love trees and preserve the environment and in future the award related to environment will be expanded further. The Chief Minister first paid tribute to the great hero of the 1857 revolution, Sh. Mangal Pandey on his birth anniversary. Extending his greetings to the people of the state for the Van Mahotsav, Sh. Manohar Lal said that in this holy month of Sravana the beauty of nature is at its best and celebrating Van Mahotsav in this holy month is a festival in itself. The Chief Minister said that in the year 1950, The Van Mahotsav or Forest Festival was initiated by Sh. Kanaiyalal Maneklal and it's a matter of great pride for us that today we are celebrating the 73rd Van Mahotsav. He said that so far several researches have shown that forests are not found on any other planet, other than earth, hence we should plant more and more trees and also protect them, said the Chief Minister.The Chief Minister said that in India it is strongly believed that God lives in forests. Explaining the meaning of 'Bhagwan' further, Sh. Manohar Lal said that 'Bh' stands for Bhoomi or Earth, G stands for Gagan or Space, 'V' stands for Vayu or Air, 'A' stands for Agni or Fire and 'N' stands for Neer or Water. All these elements are found in forests. The Chief Minister said that forest gives us air, wood to light fire, rain and water. He said that if we wish to save animals then we have to save the forests. Today each one of us needs to take a pledge to plant at least one sapling and protect it till it grows into a beautiful tree. The Chief Minister said that due to the monsoon in July, August and September, this is the best time to plant saplings. So we should plant more and more trees. The government plants saplings every year, he added. Manohar Lal said that this year also 2 crore saplings will be planted. At present, the forest area of Haryana is 7.14 percent. (editor@dailyworld.in)