Project Roshni: Rashtrapati Bhavan to become plastic-free

New Delhi, June 20 (UNI) Rashtrapati Bhavan township, which has 7,500 residents -- employees of the President's office and estate and their families -- will soon become plastic-free under ''Project Roshni'' being launched tomorrow.

The project, an initiative of President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, is aimed at making the Raisina Hills estate greener, cleaner and more eco-friendly, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman said.

Officials from the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) would educate tomorrow block representatives of the township on segregating the non-bio-degradable waste from the garbage, marking the launch of the first phase of the project.

NDMC would also make a presentation on the project and hold a street play by its artistes on the importance of protecting the environment, he said.

Earlier, Rashtrapati Bhavan, which boasts of the picturesque Mughal, Herbal and Nakshatra Gardens, had been chosen for energy conservation under which each room has stickers to encourage the employees to swtich off the lights and other electrical appliances when their use is not necessary.

The eco-project being kicked off tomorrow would be ''resident-centric, not President-centric'' to make the area an ''ideal township'' that could be replicated by townships of the public sector undertakings and others, the spokesman said.

However, Rashtrapati Bhavan has decided against going ahead with the solar power project in view of the high costs involved, he added.

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