The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh? inaugurated an event organised on the occasion of World Environment Day 2018, here today. The event is being organised by the Indian Institute and Ecology and Environment and other associates. The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is “Beat Plastic Pollution”.Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said that celebration of World Environment Day is an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the cause of protection of environment. There is still a lot that we need to do to protect our environment, he added.Speaking about the Swachhata Campaign launched by the Government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, he said this has now become a mass campaign. He said that special emphasis has been laid on constructing toilets for girl children and within one year, 4 lakh such toilets were built, he added. On completion of 4 years of Central Government, about 7.5 crore toilets have been constructed, the Minister further said. He said that the Government has taken various other initiatives to spread awareness among the masses to keep their environment clean. The Minister added that the mind set needs to be changed to achieve the target of clean environment.Dr Jitendra Singh said that this year’s theme: “Beat Plastic Pollution” is very important keeping in mind the use of plastic these days. He said that the citizens need to be educated about the harmful effects of the use of plastic on marine life, human health and environment. The plastic pollution can be beaten only when awareness is generated at a mass level, he said.The event is laying emphasis on role of schools, colleges and universities in protecting our nature & environment and beating plastic pollution.