In a monumental effort to bolster environmental conservation, the Uttar Pradesh government is gearing up to create history by planting over 36.50 crore saplings across the state on July 20.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the ambitious ‘Ped Lagao, Ped Bachao Jan Abhiyan-2024’ will kick off in Akbarnagar, Lucknow, marking a significant step towards a greener future.
Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’, 54.20 crore saplings have been nurtured in nurseries and other facilities. Ministers-in-charge across the state are actively mobilising efforts to ensure the campaign’s success, each overseeing strategic planting initiatives in their respective districts.
In preparation for the massive plantation drive, nodal officers have been appointed in every district, tasked with overseeing logistics and ensuring smooth execution. These officers will commence their duties on Friday, conducting final inspections to ensure readiness for the monumental event.
On July 20, offices, schools, and institutions statewide will halt regular activities for half a day to participate in the tree planting endeavour.
CM Yogi will plant saplings in Akbarnagar, which was cleared of encroachments for the purpose of reviving Kukrail river. Forest Minister Arun Kumar Saxena will also plant saplings in Lucknow.
Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya will plant saplings in Prayagraj and Kaushambi, and Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak in Unnao and Kanpur Dehat.
Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi will plant saplings in Ayodhya and Deoria, and Cabinet Minister Suresh Khanna in Shahjahanpur and Pilibhit. Swatantra Dev Singh will plant saplings in Banda and Chitrakoot, Cabinet Minister Baby Rani Maurya in Agra and Firozabad, Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary in Mathura and Aligarh, Dharampal Singh in Bareilly and Budaun, Anil Rajbhar in Varanasi and Mirzapur, Rakesh Sachan in Fatehpur and Hamirpur, AK Sharma in Azamgarh and Mau, and Yogendra Upadhyay in Farrukhabad and Etawah.
Additionally, Ashish Patel will plant saplings in Sultanpur, Sanjay Nishad in Ambedkarnagar, Om Prakash Rajbhar in Basti, Dara Singh Chauhan in Ghazipur, Sunil Kumar Sharma in Ghaziabad, and Anil Kumar in Muzaffarnagar.
Furthermore, ministers of state (independent charges) and other ministers of state will plant saplings in various districts. Forest Minister of State KP Malik will plant saplings in Baghpat.
On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, officers at the level of principal secretary/chief secretary/secretary have been appointed as nodal officers for the ‘Ped Lagao-Ped Bachao Jan Abhiyan-2024’ (Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam) campaign.
Alok Kumar will serve as the nodal officer for Lucknow in the capacity of Principal Secretary (Sports and Youth Welfare), while Anil Garg has been appointed as the nodal officer for Ayodhya for tree planting under the principal secretary (Irrigation and Water Resources). Principal Secretary (Technical Education) M. Devaraj is named the nodal officer for Prayagraj.
In PM Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi, Managing Director of Jal Mission Gramin Dr Raj Shekhar has been appointed as the nodal officer. Additionally, Principal Secretary of Social Welfare Dr Hari
Om has been designated in Mirzapur, and Relief Commissioner Navin Kumar GS in Azamgarh.
In Yogi’s home district of Gorakhpur, Sports Secretary Suhas LY has been appointed as the nodal officer. In Kanpur Nagar, Principal Secretary (Namami Gange and Rural Water Supply) Anurag Srivastava will take up the role, while Commissioner Amit Gupta will serve in Kanpur Dehat.
Commissioner Balakrishna Tripathi has been designated as the nodal officer in Chitrakoot. Additionally, in Agra, Additional Chief Secretary (Housing and Urban Planning) Nitin Ramesh Gokarn will serve as the nodal officer, and Principal Secretary (Prison Administration) Rajesh Kumar Singh will fulfil this role in Aligarh.
Under the campaign, saplings will be planted across all 18 divisions. The highest target has been set for Lucknow division, where over 41.73 lakh saplings will be planted. Kanpur division will see plantation of 2.96 crore saplings, followed by Chitrakoot (2.89 crore), Jhansi (2.82 crore), Mirzapur (2.62 crore), Ayodhya (2.39 crore), Devipatan (2.14 crore), Prayagraj (2.07 crore), Bareilly (1.91 crore), Varanasi (1.76 crore), Moradabad (1.83 crore), Agra (1.68 crore), Gorakhpur (1.65 crore), Azamgarh (1.30 crore), Aligarh (1.22 crore), Meerut (1.16 crore), Basti (1.11 crore), and Saharanpur (90.23 lakh) saplings.
Geotagging of planting sites will also be conducted. The Yogi government aims to achieve this target with everyone’s support. Following last year’s efforts, the department has commenced preparations for successful plantation this year. Initially, the Forest department set a target of 35 crore trees, but CM Yogi increased the target to 36.46 crore in a recent meeting. After further adjustments, the Forest department is now prepared to plant 36.50 crore trees by July 20.
To support this initiative, various departments have been allocated specific tree planting targets. The Forest, Environment, and Climate Change department has been allocated 14.29 crore trees, the Rural Development department 13 crore, and the Agriculture Department 2.80 crore trees.
Other allocations include the Horticulture department with 1.55 crore trees, Panchayati Raj department 1.27 crore, and Revenue department 1.05 crore. The Urban Development department is responsible for planting 44.97 lakh trees, Higher Education 22.54 lakh, Silk department 14.19 lakh, PWD 14.93 lakh, Railways 12.66 lakh, and Hydropower 13.41 lakh trees.
Additionally, the Basic Education department will plant 15.43 lakh trees, the Health department 19.91 lakh, MSME 15.55 lakh, Industrial Development department 7.73 lakh, Secondary Education department 11.63 lakh, Home department 10 lakh, Animal Husbandry department 7.26 lakh, Energy department 5.60 lakh, Cooperation department 7.60 lakh, Housing Development department 8.38 lakh, Defence department 4.95 lakh, Vocational Education department 8.06 lakh, Labour department 2.69 lakh, and Transport department more than 2.53 lakh.
