PIB Tracker'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' goes mass: over a crore trees planted in one constituency in a day
Amit Shah launched a mass plantation drive in Gujarat's Gandhinagar under 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam', saying over one crore native trees were planted in the constituency in a single day — part of a people's movement that, he noted, has seen CAPFs plant seven crore trees over seven years.
What happened
- Amit Shah launched a mass plantation drive in Gujarat's Gandhinagar constituency under 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam'.
- He said over one crore native trees were planted in the constituency in a single day, and 50 lakh across Ahmedabad.
- The campaign to plant 1.25 crore trees has grown from a slogan into a people's movement, embodying 'People, Planet with Progress'.
- He noted the CAPFs have planted over seven crore trees in seven years.
- The trees are native species suited to India's ecology, many with 100+ year lifespans, to naturally green Ahmedabad.
For Prelims
- 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam': A national tree-plantation campaign (launched 2024 on World Environment Day) urging citizens to plant a tree in their mother's name.
- Afforestation & carbon sink: India's climate target includes creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes CO₂-equivalent through forest/tree cover by 2030.
- Native species: Planting indigenous species (vs. exotics) supports local ecology, biodiversity and survival rates — a key afforestation principle.
- People's movement (Jan Andolan): Mobilising citizens for environmental action — the model behind campaigns like this and Swachh Bharat.
- CAPFs: The Central Armed Police Forces (BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB) — here credited with large-scale plantation.
- Tree cover vs forest cover: Plantation drives raise tree cover; the quality and survival of planted trees (not just numbers) determine real ecological gain.
For UPSC: Anchor this in afforestation and climate action — mass, citizen-led, native-species plantation toward India's carbon-sink target, and the 'Jan Andolan' model. Note the caveat that tree-count campaigns must ensure survival and ecological suitability, not just numbers, to deliver genuine carbon and biodiversity gains.
What it is NOT: This is a mass plantation event and campaign, not a forest-policy change or a measured increase in forest cover. Large one-day tree-count figures indicate mobilisation; real gains depend on <b>survival rates</b> and native-species suitability, not planting numbers alone.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.14 · Linkage L1
Anchor
Citizen-led afforestation for climate and green cover — mobilising mass, native-species plantation toward India's carbon-sink goal.
Substantiation (data)
'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' mass drive in Gandhinagar: over 1 crore native trees in a day (50 lakh in Ahmedabad); 1.25 crore-tree campaign; CAPFs planted 7 crore+ trees in seven years.
Exemplification
Native-species, long-lifespan plantation and a 'Jan Andolan' model of citizen participation as the afforestation approach.
Problematisation
Tree-count campaigns risk low survival and ecological mismatch; genuine gains need aftercare, monitoring and native-species diversity.
Way-forward
Prioritise survival and native diversity, monitor plantations (GIS), and link mass drives to durable carbon-sink and biodiversity outcomes.
Position
Government stance: participatory afforestation ('People, Planet with Progress') as part of India's climate commitments.
Deploys into: Conservation, afforestation and climate change (GS3.14 — tree cover, carbon sink) · 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam', native-species afforestation and the carbon-sink target · the 'Jan Andolan' model and the survival-vs-numbers caveat.
Ministry of Home Affairs · 2026-07-12 · PRID 2283852 · PIB source ↗