Jaipur, Mar 5 (IANS): Addressing the two-day national conference on 'Accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals' on Tuesday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma said the vision of Ram Rajya involves the welfare of not only the human race, but all living beings, earth and nature.
"Development of mankind is possible only on the basis of better harmony and balance in nature. Therefore, we should work with determination to conserve nature and the environment," CM Sharma said on Day 2 of the conference.
"The extinction of many animal species is worrying. Environmental balance is necessary to save them. The existence of mankind is also in danger due to excessive exploitation of natural resources. That is why we should make balanced use of natural resources, only to fulfill our basic needs," the Chief Minister said.
He added, "While fulfilling our duty of being responsible citizens, we should also think about the needy people living nearby and try to extend the benefits of public welfare schemes to every deprived person. Even a small effort of ours can bring a big change in someone's life. The self-satisfaction we get from this will be our true reward."
Sharma also said that the spirit of human welfare was inherent in the resolve of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay for Antyodaya.
"The state government is working dedicatedly to realise this resolution. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also believes that the nation can move forward on the path of progress only with the determination, support, trust and effort of everyone," he said.
Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the UNDP SDG Knowledge Hub Portal, SDG-2 Dashboard, and the Food and Nutrition Security Analysis Dashboard prepared by the state government. He also visited the stalls displaying the works of various states with regard to SDGs.
The conference commenced in Jaipur on Monday, bringing together senior government officials from 31 states and Union Territories. The objective of this conference is to convene the states and UTs to take stock on SDG localisation, exchange experiences on institutionalising the SDGs at the sub-national level, explore the SDG finance landscape at the national and sub-national level, and conclude by charting a path for accelerating progress at the mid-point of the 2030 SDG agenda.