Delhi govt to launch plantation drive info portal to push public participation

Starting next month, Delhi residents can join free planting drives via an online portal during Van Mahotsav, aiming to plant 7 million saplings this year.

Published on: Jun 14, 2026, 03:40:15 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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New Delhi: Starting next month, the Delhi government plans to open plantation activities to the public during this year’s Van Mahotsav celebrations, enabling residents to register for free drives in their neighbourhood through a dedicated online portal.

According to Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the state forest department will launch a portal by June end, which will provide ward-wise details of plantation sites, allowing visitors to identify the site nearest to them. They can register for the same and plant saplings with assistance from the government.

Delhi government has set a target of planting 7,000,000 saplings this year, with 1,500,000 to be planted in the city’s reserved forest areas.

“We will celebrate Van Mahotsav on a large scale and invite residents to participate actively. The forest department is likely to launch a new portal through which people can register to plant a tree,” Sirsa said.

Officials said meetings have been held with several land-owning agencies, including the forest department, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), the irrigation and flood control department, and the education department to identify plantation sites. Preparatory work, including the digging of pits for saplings, is already underway, they added.

According to the India State of Forest Report 2023, Delhi’s green cover stood at 371.3 sq km, accounting for around 25% of the city’s total geographical area of 1,483 sq km.

To further encourage participation, the forest department will also roll out “Vriksh Rath” – or saplings on wheels – during the monsoon season. These are mobile units which will distribute free saplings and provide logistical support for plantation activities. A tender has already been floated for the procurement of 13 vehicles, one for each of Delhi’s districts. The vehicles will carry saplings, manure, water and other materials, while horticulture staff deployed on board will assist residents.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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