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The Uttar Pradesh government headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is gearing up to turn river banks across the state green with the plantation of 3,72,66,000 (37.27 million) saplings on 25,061.84 hectares under the Ped Lagao, Ped Bachao Jan Abhiyan-2024.
The government has set plantation targets for Ganga, Yamuna and Hindon riverbanks as part of the campaign, which will run until September 30.
Specifically, 7.75 million saplings will be planted on 5,096.42 hectares along the banks of the Ganga. Additionally, 534 sites along the Yamuna have also been identified for plantations.
To ensure the conservation of these plantations, the government has appointed nodal officers for monitoring and management.
The plantations will be carried out along the banks of rivers as part of the holy stream initiative. Specifically, 676 sites have been identified along the Ganga river, where 7.75 million saplings will be planted across 5,096.42 hectares.
In the forest divisions along the Ganga, including Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Fatehpur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Kashi Wildlife and Ballia, an incentive scheme funded by the National Mission for Clean Ganga is also being implemented.
This scheme aims to promote the cultivation of medicinal plants in farmers’ fields. It proposes cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants on 2,500 hectares of private land, supported by establishing 17 departmental and 50 farmer nurseries.
Chief Minister Yogi has instructed the Forest department, as the nodal agency of the campaign, to develop greenery along the banks of the Yamuna, Hindon and other rivers.
For this purpose, the Forest department has identified 534 sites along the Yamuna, where 9.85 million saplings will be planted over 6,581.32 hectares.
Additionally, 54 sites have been identified along the Hindon river for the plantation of 4,14,000 saplings across 270.13 hectares.
To further enhance the greenery of UP, 19.25 million saplings will be planted over 13,113.97 hectares at 1,392 sites along other rivers under the Holy Stream plantation initiative. Two thousand six hundred fifty-six sites have been identified, and over 37.27 million saplings will be planted across 25,061.84 hectares along the riverbanks this year.
The plan was developed by the Forest department and the Jal Shakti-Sichai Vibhag. Together, they have created a framework for reviving rivers across the state. Various trees, including Neem, Drumstick, Tamarind, Arjun, Jamun, Bel, Mango, Mahua, Teak, Sheesham, Guteel, Bamboo, Peepal, Pakkad and Banyan, will be planted along the riverbanks.
According to Additional Chief Forest Conservator PP Singh, chief forest conservator of southern region, Prayagraj, will be the nodal officer for Ganga; chief forest conservator of Kanpur division will be the nodal officer for  Yamuna; chief forest conservator of western region, Meerut, will be the nodal officer for Hindon; and chief forest conservator of eastern region, Gorakhpur, will be the nodal officer for other major rivers.