Delhi govt launches massive greening drive, to plant 70 lakh saplings this year

Talking about the initiative, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Delhi's Environment Minister, said that every sapling will be geo-tagged to ensure scientific monitoring and long-term survival.Delhi government's tree plantation initiativeDelhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Friday joined Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma and senior government officials in a plantation drive at the PBG Ground in the Ridge, announcing that 15 lakh trees and saplings are being planted across the Ridge and other identified green areas as part of a large-scale eco-restoration programme.The plantation drive is part of the Delhi government's broader target of planting 70 lakh trees and saplings across the national capital this year to expand the city's green cover.Addressing participants, Sirsa said the campaign draws inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" initiative and seeks to transform environmental conservation into a mass movement through public participation. "The objective is not merely to increase plantation numbers but to create a sustainable green legacy for future generations," the minister said, adding that every sapling planted under the campaign is being geotagged to enable scientific monitoring and improve survival rates. Sirsa said the Delhi government has prepared a 10-year plantation strategy centred on native species that require less water, provide greater shade, generate more oxygen and help combat pollution in the capital.The minister said the campaign has witnessed participation from members of the judiciary, senior government officials, diplomats from more than 70 countries, educational institutions, religious organisations and citizen groups.Highlighting parallel environmental initiatives, Sirsa claimed that nearly 60 per cent of Delhi's legacy waste has been cleared over the past one-and-a-half years. He said reclaimed landfill land is now being converted into green spaces through plantation and ecological restoration, with waste remediation and afforestation forming twin pillars of the government's vision for a cleaner and healthier Delhi.In a post on X, Sirsa shared visuals from the plantation drive and reiterated the government's commitment to expanding Delhi's green cover under the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" campaign. He said the initiative aims to make environmental conservation a people's movement through active public participation.- EndsWith PTI inputsPublished By: Akash ChatterjeePublished On: Jul 26, 2026 07:57 IST