Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ji reviewed the preparations for the proposed Van Mahotsav and revival of rivers in the coming July in a high-level meeting held at his official residence today. On the occasion, he unveiled the ‘Logo’ of Tree Plantation Campaign-2025 and directed that the campaign be made a mass movement. The Chief Minister said that this time the target has been set to plant more saplings than the total population of the state in a single day.
He said that this campaign based on the theme of ‘Ek tree maa ke naam’ will take the state from heatwave to greenwave. Between 2017 and 2024, more than 204.92 crore saplings have been planted and as per the report of Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, the green cover of the state has increased by 3 lakh acres between 2017 and 2023, which is the result of public participation.
As a new initiative this year, the Chief Minister announced that every newborn born during the Van Mahotsav would be presented with a ‘Green Gold Certificate’ and a sapling to his / her parents. This initiative will be an attempt to connect the environment with personal life, wherein the care of the plant will be done with the same sensitivity as that of a newborn.
The Chief Minister said that this time a target has been set to plant 35 crore saplings, which is more than the population of the state. Of these, 12.6 crore saplings will be planted by the forest department and 22.4 crore by other departments. A total of 2,586 government and private nurseries in the state are ready with saplings of fruit bearing, industrial, shade bearing and fodder species for supply of saplings.
He said that under Project Alankar, plantation of sahjan and other shady trees should be made mandatory in all schools and medical colleges and district hospitals so that patients and their families get relief.
The Chief Minister also said that the environment should be made green and clean by planting dense saplings in all the industrial areas. Trees like neem, pakad, peepal should be planted in cow-shelters which are useful for bovines.
In this campaign, conservation of rivers was also given priority. He directed that tree plantation should be done on the banks of rivers and saplings should also be planted around ponds to conserve water sources. If need be, the rivers should be desilted.
Emphasising on public participation, the Chief Minister said that the priority should be to connect this campaign with the public. Competitions will be held in painting, photography, debate, essay writing and debate. At the same time, fruit trees should be planted in public places so that greenery increases along with nutrition.
The Chief Minister directed to plant trees on the sides of Gorakhpur Link, Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Agra-Lucknow and Ganga Motorway so that green belts can be developed. A target has also been set to get at least one sapling from the beneficiaries of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. Village secretariats, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and public institutions should also be linked to this goal.
He stressed that as much as plantation is important, so is their safety. All plants should be geo-tagged and fenced. The public should also be motivated to care for and protect the plants by not limiting them to planting only.
The Chief Minister clarified that this is not just a government scheme, but the foundation of the bright future of the state. When every household will plant a sapling and every citizen will ensure its protection, then Uttar Pradesh will not only be the most populous state in the country but will also be recognised as the greenest and environmentally conscious state.