PATNA: All government hospitals and medical colleges in the state will now grow neem plants under a new scheme, ‘Neem Haqim’, launched by the department of environment, forests and climate change (EFCC) in association with the health department on Tuesday.
EFCC minister Neeraj Kumar Singh and health minister Mangal Pandey, who launched the new eco-friendly scheme at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) here, planted saplings of neem on the campus.
Neeraj said all medical colleges have been asked to identify the area available for plantation within a week to get saplings from the forest department.
“The government intends to create a neem corridor in the state,” he said, adding private hospitals and nursing homes with sufficient space may also join the scheme.
Though other fruit plants would also be grown on the hospital campuses, neem, scientifically known azadirachta indica and having medicinal and insecticidal properties, would count 50% of the total plantation there, the minister said.
The health minister said his department was actively cooperating with district and subdivisional hospitals to make the initiative a success.
He said neem was useful for both the health of human beings and the environment.
Pandey later inspected the work on construction of a new building at IGIMS with 500-bed capacity and directed the engineers there to expedite the work.