Fiscal power has nothing to do with utilisation of natural resources: Dhankhar

Panaji: The Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, said on Thursday that fiscal power has nothing to do with utilisation of natural resources, there has to be balance.

Dhankhar was speaking after releasing the 200th book of Governor of Goa, P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, titled 'Vaman Vriksha Kala' at a function held here.

"We can’t take a stand that I will use water, petroleum, energy, gas because I can afford them. Fiscal power has nothing to do with utilisation of natural resources, there has to be a balance. We should have optimal utilisation of natural resources and if we do that, the pristine glory of the areas will be preserved,” Dhankhar said.

“Miniature landscapes absorb us when we look at them. We can’t divert attention. They are so inviting. It is one human intervention in flora and fauna and ecology, which is soothing. We remind mankind that reckless exploitation of nature and resources and forest is not good for the planet. We are trustees of it,” he said.

“The time has come when each of us should take a pledge that the planet is not only for human beings, it is for living beings. Everyone has the right to be on the planet. We know how hygienic conditions, clean environment and curbing pollution takes care of our ecosystem,” he said.

Praising Pillai on his literary work, Dhankhar said “The prime intention of this manuscript is to firmly establish the fact that Bonsai is originally an Indian art as against the widely-hailed belief that it belongs to China and Japan.

"We live under perceptions… In this process, we forget our roots, history and culture. If you look into health aspects, you will find one of our Vedas focus so much on health that modern medical science can be enlightened. That is what we have to do,” he said.