Plant More Fruit-Bearing and Shade Giving Trees for Maximum benefits at minimal Cost : CM Yadav

Chief Minister Dr. Yadav said that the farmers and private sectors of the state should also be connected with the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign. All departments should speed up plantation to meet targets and also monitor the planted saplings properly. The Horticulture Department should encourage farmers to plant make fruit-bearing trees so that in the near future, by selling fruits, their income can be increased. Through “Ek Bagiya Maa Ke Naam”, the state government is also committed to increase the income of women from self-help groups. They will be provided financial assistance for three years to develop fruit orchards.

Forest Department has planted more than 5 crore 38 lakh saplings so far

Chief Minister Dr. Yadav said that after the call of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign is being run across the state from June 5, which will continue till September 30. Principal Secretary, Environment said that the “Meri LiFE” portal has been prepared for monitoring of the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign started from World Environment Day. From June 5 till now, more than 5 crore 54 lakh saplings have been planted and registered on the portal by various departments and districts of the state. In this campaign, the Forest Department alone had set a target of planting 3.40 crore saplings in the year 2025-26. Against this target, more than 5 crore 38 lakh saplings have been planted by 22 July. The Forest Department has achieved more than 95 percent of the total plantation. The Forest Department had prepared a comprehensive action plan, which included linking plantation areas to the campaign, preparations for plantation as per government instructions, active participation of Joint Forest Management Committees, monitoring of plants through Plantation Monitoring System, and regular uploading of plantation data on the “Meri LiFE” portal.

Progress of campaign so far

In the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign, the Higher Education Department had set a target of planting 1.60 lakh saplings. So far, more than 1 lakh indigenous fruit-bearing saplings have been planted in all government universities and college campuses of the state. Similarly, the Urban Development and Housing Department had set a target of planting 1 crore saplings. Against the target, 4.15 lakh shady and medicinal saplings have been planted in all urban bodies of the state. This campaign will prove to be extremely helpful in preparing urban forests (green cover) in urban areas. The Panchayat and Rural Development Department has linked women from self-help groups on a large scale to the plantation campaign. So far, more than 7 thousand women have been taken for site visits of plantation areas. The department plans to assign the responsibility of maintenance of all planted saplings to the women self-help groups.

School Education Department planting about 50 thousand saplings daily

Under the campaign, the School Education Department has set a target of more than 86 lakh 27 thousand plantations. So far, 5 lakh 37 thousand 625 fruit-bearing and shady saplings like mango, guava, neem, peepal, banyan, teak, and shisham have been planted in schools and open grounds of the state. In the meeting, Secretary of the School Education Department Dr. Sanjay Goyal informed that the department has actively involved school children in this campaign. The department is getting children to plant saplings daily and getting their photos clicked with their mothers and uploading them on the “Meri LiFE” portal. He informed that with collective cooperation and efforts of all, 50 thousand saplings are being planted daily by the department. In the next two months, the department will complete its target.

Horticulture Department has planted more than 9.34 lakh saplings

The Horticulture Department has set a target of planting 21 lakh saplings in an area of 4862 hectares. So far, more than 9.34 lakh plantations have been done across the state in farms, areas near rivers, and around reservoirs and streams. These include various fruit-bearing plants such as mango, guava, orange, and lemon. Similarly, the Panchayat and Rural Development Department has planned to launch the plantation campaign from 15 August to 15 September under the “Ek Bagiya Maa Ke Naam” campaign. The department has already started plantation under the Gangotri Green Project on the Maa Narmada Parikrama Path from 15 July. The Environment Department has planted more than 2 lakh 76 thousand saplings in about 37 thousand school campuses through Eco Clubs.

The meeting was attended by Forest and Environment Minister of State Shri Dilip Ahirwar, Additional Chief Secretary Forest Shri Ashok Barnwal, Principal Secretary Environment Shri Navneet Mohan Kothari, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Shri Aseem Shrivastava, Commissioner Urban Development and Housing Shri Sanket Bhondve, Director-cum-Commissioner of Panchayat and Rural Development Shri Chhote Singh, Commissioner Horticulture Smt. Preeti Maithil, and other senior officials.