Responding to Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s congratulatory message on the Centre’s initiative to rejuvenate 13 major rivers in the country, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat thanked the spiritual leader and said, “Your vision, guidance and all-inclusive approach towards ecology are an inspiration".

“Validating the science of the RfR model, the DPRs which have been prepared by subject matter experts from the Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE), Dehradun, are almost symmetrically aligned to the RfR policy recommendations," a press release by Isha Foundation stated, adding that this is expected to silence critics who dismissed the model as “unscientific."

In his tweet welcoming the Centre’s decision, Sadhguru said: “Congratulations, Hon’ble Ministers on this most timely & welcome initiative to #RallyforRivers- treasures that must be revitalized & restored to their full glory. Forestry interventions will ensure our rivers remain perennial. Best Wishes & Blessings."

Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav also reacted to Sadhguru’s tweet and said: “With your blessings Shri @SadhguruJV ji, the govt led by PM Shri @narendramodi ji will leave no stone unturned in maintaining the golden mean between development and environment."

About Rally For Rivers

Spiritual leader Sadhguru launched the massive ecological campaign- Rally for Rivers- in 2017 in a bid to revitalise India’s dying rivers.

As per the press release, the campaign garnered the support of 162 million people. “Sadhguru had submitted a Draft Policy Recommendations document for river revitalization to Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi which was accepted as national policy," it said.

Rally for Rivers bats a participatory model of river revitalisation. Its on-ground project- Cauvery Calling- to revitalise river Cauvery has thus far enlisted 125,000 farmers to adopt tree-based farming on their farmlands in the Cauvery river basin, the release said, adding that the model has been proven for nearly two decades on ground by Isha and farmers have reported a rise in their incomes between 3 and 8 times as well as significant improvement in soil health, groundwater levels and nutritional value of crops.

“Cauvery Calling aims to enable 5 million farmers in the river basin to plant 2.42 billion trees on their farmlands over 12 years for sustainable economic and ecological benefits. Till date, the movement has enabled the planting of 62 million trees living in the region," it said.

The “Revitalization of Rivers in India" Draft Policy Recommendation was handed over by Sadhguru to the Centre in 2017.

This article was originally published on News18.com