Patna, March 16: The state government has been extensively planting trees to tackle environment pollution, rural development minister Shravan Kumar said today.

"The rural development department has planted 45,40,200 trees in the hinterland in 2016-17 along canals, riverbanks, embankments and private lands. Half of the trees planted are fruit-bearing ones," the minister said, replying to a debate on the budgetary demand of the department.

Shravan said the government will continue to expand the forest cover in the state through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Two forest guards are employed to protect one unit of the trees on payment of 100 days of wages each under MGNREGA, the minister said, adding: "One unit comprises 200 trees."

The minister said the government plans to make 473 villages in 12 districts along the Ganga free of open defecation by next year. As many as 170 villages out of 473 have already been declared open-defecation-free, Shravan added.

"The government plans to make all villages in Bihar open-defecation-free by 2019 under the Lohia Swachhata Abhiyan. The above poverty line families too are given Rs 12,000 for building toilets in their homes under the scheme," the minister said.

He said the Centre under its Swachh Bharat Mission had sanctioned toilets in selected below poverty line families in the state. "The Centre's programme could not have made entire Bihar open-defecation-free. That is why the state has adopted the Lohia Swachchhata Abhiyan to make entire Bihar free of open defecation," he said.

The minister informed the House that 3,000 villages, 526 panchayats, and a sub-division have been made open-defection-free from July 2016. He said he expected support from members across party lines and elected panchayat representatives to facilitate the "pious" work under the scheme.

Shravan said the state aims to build 6,37,658 houses for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana during 2016-17. The Centre and the state are supposed to share the cost on the rural housing scheme in a ratio of 60:40, the minister said.

The BJP members, however, walked out from the House describing the minister's reply as "unsatisfactory".