MoEFCC embarked upon a major initiative
for creating environmental awareness among children by formulating National Green
Corps (NGC) in 2001-02. NGC Programme aims at building cadres of young children
working towards environmental conservation and sustainable development.
Operated through Eco-clubs set up in schools registered as members of NGC, this
programme exposes school children to in-depth field experiences, and provides opportunities
to convert their ideas into creative action. This programme seeks to redirect the
consciousness of students towards environment friendly attitudes and actions and
goes beyond schools, promoting school-society interactions to sensitize the society.
The number of schools supported under NGC per district is 250 with annual grant
for each Eco-club being Rs.2,500/-. An additional amount of Rs. 25,000/- per district
is given for monitoring at the district level.