Delhi govt’s Van Mahotsav drive to resume from Dwarka this Sunday

The plantation drive began on July 9 with saplings being planted at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in Pusa

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Friday said the government will resume its Van Mahotsav plantation drive with a second event planned at the Dwarka Mela ground in the west Delhi on Sunday.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai during a Van Mahotsav event in Delhi earlier on July 9. (PTI)

Van Mahotsav, which began on July 9, is the Delhi government’s plantation drive which was initially planned to be held every Sunday across different Lok Sabha constituencies. However, the event on July 16, in northeast Delhi’s Garhi Mandu, was cancelled due to the flooding in the area because of rising waters of the Yamuna. Rai added a fresh date will be announced soon for the northeast Delhi Lok Sabha constituency as well.

“We had to postpone the Van Mahotsav event scheduled for the northeast Delhi Lok Sabha constituency on July 16 due to the flood-like conditions in Delhi. Now that life in Delhi is almost back to normal, we have chosen to conduct the second Van Mahotsav programme at Dwarka Mela ground. Additionally, a new date for the postponed Van Mahotsav programme for the northeast Delhi Lok Sabha seat will be announced shortly,” he said on Friday.

The plantation drive began on July 9 with saplings being planted at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in Pusa. Prior to that, the Delhi government had announced the plan of the plantation drive events at Bhatti Mines in south Delhi on July 30, at the Delhi University Polo Ground in north Delhi on August 6, at the Yamuna Bank Metro station on August 13 and the final event at the Chhatrasal Stadium in north Delhi on August 20.

Rai said the plantation drive is aimed at reducing air pollution in Delhi, with “the government working hard over the years to improve air quality”.

“As a result of our measures, there has been a steady decline in the level of pollution inside Delhi along with a considerable increase in green cover. Moving forward in this direction, a tree plantation campaign was included in the 14-point summer action plan (SAP). This year, our government will celebrate Van Mahotsav with the whole of Delhi by planting trees and distributing saplings in different Lok Sabha constituencies of Delhi every Sunday for the seven weeks. Members of west Delhi Lok Sabha’s RWAs (resident welfare associations) and children and teachers of eco clubs will also be present during this Sunday’s programme,” he added.

The minister added that 11.8 million saplings have been planted between 2020 and 2023 — the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s current tenure. He said a target of planting 5.2 million saplings has been set for this financial year.