Delhi CM plants Sindoor tree sapling to kick off phase 2 of plantation drive

The launch comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the nationwide Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam initiative on World Environment Day

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Monday kicked off the second phase of Delhi’s plantation campaign, Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0 (A tree for your mother), by planting a Sindoor tree (bixa orellana) sapling at the Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Shalimar Bagh, alongside education minister Ashish Sood.

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta plants a sapling at Government Girls Senior Secondary School at Shalimar Bagh in New Delhi on Monday. (HT Photo)

“This is more than an environmental campaign — it’s an emotional, cultural and social commitment to our mothers, our motherland, and Mother Nature,” Gupta said.

The launch comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the nationwide Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam initiative on World Environment Day by planting a banyan sapling in Delhi’s Mahavir Vanasthali Park. The campaign encourages people to plant trees in honour of their mothers — symbolic of the nurturing power of both motherhood and nature.

Taking a dig at her predecessors, Gupta said the previous AAP-led government “rejected people-centric programmes simply because they were centrally sponsored”, even viewing environmental campaigns through a political lens.

Gupta announced an ambitious target of planting 70 lakh (seven million) trees this year, calling it the “most effective and accessible way” to fight pollution. “This isn’t just a plantation drive — it’s a pledge of gratitude to our mothers and a shared responsibility to heal the earth. The Delhi government is committed to turning this into a people’s movement,” she said.

The CM urged Delhi residents to plant trees in every available space — from roadside medians to under flyovers — and called on schools, government departments, religious institutions, civil society groups, and corporates to help turn the campaign into a mass movement.

“The Delhi government has officially rolled out this campaign, with every department, school, and institution set to take part,” CM Gupta said. “I urge every Delhiite — individuals, organisations, communities — to plant a tree in the name of their mother, motherland, or Mother Nature, and help turn this into a collective green movement.”

“Let’s revive the traditions that once placed neem, peepal, and banyan trees in every courtyard — not just for religious reasons, but because they made ecological sense,” she said.