Himachal’s Chief Minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal would be honored with the ‘Golden Peacock Award‘ on 30th May at S.M. Convention Centre, Palampur at the opening ceremony of the Global Convention on climatic change, a spokesman said.
The Jury of the Golden Peacock Award which consists of Dr. Ola Ullsten, the former Primer Minister of Sweden as the Chairman has approved his name for the Golden Peacock Award for “Environmental Leadership” which is being conferred to him for his outstanding initiatives, achievements and leadership in this area. The spokesman praised P.K.Dhumal efforts for raising the carbon credit issue to the national level, saying further that it were the Himalayan states together who are shouldering the responsibility of protecting the environment of whole of the country.
The controlled industrial activities, ban of industries with high pollutants emission, check on polythene bags in the state are other factors that have been underlined by the jury for their decision to award the state.
Golden Peacock Award Controversy
The prestige of Golden Peacock Awards is questionable, given the quantities they are given away in each year. From 1995 to 2010 at least 710 Golden Peacock Awards have been given in 13 categories. In 2010, 79 awards were given – this data is sourced from the website: http://www.goldenpeacockawards.com Fees to apply for these awards range around Rs.39,500. The income from the Golden Peacock Awards is significant, especially with many awards created for many winners, and for many paying applicants. It seems that the Golden Peacock Awards are designed to bring in a large income to the organisers, opposed to recognising and promoting outstanding achievement.