Pankaja Munde answers Sayaji Shinde's criticism over tree felling in Karjat: "I am a Botany Honours"

Actor and environment enthusiast Sayaji Shinde has sharply criticised the state government over large-scale tree felling in the Karjat area of Raigad district. He also targeted Environment Minister Pankaja Munde in particular. Shinde had said that when a minister is given a portfolio, it is necessary to see whether she or he knows the subject.

Munde reacted for the first time. She said she had seen Shinde's statement. According to Munde, "I am Pankaja Gopinath Munde, Environment Minister, Botany Honours. My education has also been good." She also said she agrees with Shinde's opinion.

Munde said personal criticism will not get the work done. She made it clear that she is the Environment Minister and has a full understanding of environmental questions. She said she is educated and has all the information related to the environment.

Shinde believes that humans themselves have ruined the environment. Munde said she agrees with this view as well. She said people need both trees and electricity. She said she will make efforts to strike a balance between the two, and will do so keeping a close watch herself.

Meanwhile, Munde celebrated Bhau Beej at the camp of sugarcane-cutting workers on the premises of the Sant Tukaram Maharaj cooperative sugar factory in Mulshi taluka of Pune. There she cooked food on a wood-fired stove and spoke with the women sugarcane-cutting workers.