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Planting saplings for photos not enough: Haryana CM
Addressing the inaugural session of the second phase of the state-level van mahotsav organised at Manesar in Gurugram on Friday, CM directed the forest department, panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies to focus not only on plantation targets but also on ensuring the survival and growth of every sapling
Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday called upon citizens to actively participate in environmental conservation, saying protecting nature should become a people’s movement rooted in India’s cultural values. Saini cautioned that planting a sapling merely for ceremonial purposes– or a photograph– cannot be considered success, saying that real success lies in how many of the saplings planted become full grown trees three years after the plantation.
Addressing the inaugural session of the second phase of the state-level van mahotsav organised at Manesar in Gurugram on Friday, CM directed the forest department, panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies to focus not only on plantation targets but also on ensuring the survival and growth of every sapling.
The programme was presided over by Haryana environment, forest and wildlife minister, Rao Narbir Singh, while Union minister for environment, forest and climate change Bhupender Yadav attended the programme as the guest of honour.
“Merely planting a sapling for ceremonial purposes or a photograph cannot be considered success,” Saini said, adding that environmental conservation is not merely a government programme but a moral responsibility of every citizen.
The first phase of this year’s van mahotsav was launched in Karnal on July 30, while the second phase began from Manesar on Friday and it will now be organised in all 90 assembly constituencies of the state. Haryana has set a target of planting 1.4 crore saplings during the financial year 2026-27.
Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said the Aravali mountain range, Sultanpur wetland, the district’s grasslands and other natural ecosystems play a vital role in maintaining ecological balance.
Haryana’s forest minister Rao Narbir Singh said planting a sapling is a one-day activity, but protecting and nurturing it until it grows into a tree is the real responsibility. “With this objective, the state government has placed equal emphasis this year on plantation as well as the long-term care and protection of every sapling,” he said.
Haryana Cabinet ministers, members of Parliament and other dignitaries also led plantation drives across the state under the second phase of the van mahotsav and the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign, calling upon citizens to make environmental conservation a mass movement.
