Lucknow, June 5: The Uttar Pradesh administration has mobilised government machinery and civilian groups to execute a massive, single-day ecological campaign targeting the planting of 50 million saplings across the state. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath initiated the state-wide effort on Friday morning by planting the first tree in the Kukrail Forest Area to mark World Environment Day.
The green initiative follows a national call for environmental conservation under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ framework, with specific planting quotas designated for all 18 administrative divisions and key public departments. Local governance wings, including 17 Municipal Corporations, 825 Development Blocks, and all Gram Panchayats, are supervising localized planting operations throughout the day.
“Providing accessible and affordable education is the topmost priority of our government,” School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains stated in related state updates, while Forest Department officials turned their attention entirely toward the massive environmental logistics.
The structural blueprint distributes the workload across key state machinery, assigning the Rural Development Department the highest operational target of 30 million saplings. The Agriculture Department is tasked with 7.5 million, followed by the Forest and Horticulture Departments, which are responsible for 5 million saplings each. The Panchayati Raj and Urban Development sectors are managing the remaining balance of the state-wide quota.
Regional targets are led heavily by the Lucknow division, which holds a designated target of 6.277 million saplings. Substantial planting goals have also been established for the Bareilly, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Jhansi, and Chitrakoot divisions to balance the state’s regional green density.
The massive rollout focuses on maximizing survival rates by planting heavily around infrastructural and natural water networks, including state expressways, canals, public rivers, and regional Amrit Sarovars. Forest Minister Arun Saxena, alongside senior administrative secretaries, joined the central launch event in Kukrail, where over 200 saplings were planted in the initial opening phase. The department will conclude the day’s events with a state-level seminar focused on structural solutions to climate change at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan.
