Working to change Delhi from a gas chamber to green Capital: CM Rekha Gupta inaugurates Van Mahotsav 2025

The government now plans to plant 700,000 saplings across Delhi, Gupta announced, adding that it is also developing Miyawaki forests across an area of 20 acres.

Chief minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated this year’s Van Mahotsav event on Thursday at the Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan. Gupta, accompanied by ministers Majinder Singh Sirsa and Parvesh Verma , and BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj, also planted a sapling on the occasion.

CM Rekha Gupta along with Cabinet Ministers planting a tree on the occasion of Van Mahotsav on Thursday. (Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times)

The government now plans to plant 700,000 saplings across Delhi, Gupta announced, adding that it is also developing Miyawaki forests across an area of 20 acres.

She exhorted Delhi citizens to work alongside the government to transform the city from a “gas chamber into a green capital”.

“The festival symbolises our joint responsibility towards our mother Earth. It is a resolution through which we want to give the gift of life and greenery to the future generations,” Gupta said.

As part of the event, a two-day exhibition has also been organised at the Bharat Mandapam, in which over a hundred stalls showcasing different species of plants and eco-friendly products have been set up. Plants which improve air quality, medicinal and ornamental plants, and a varied range of handcrafted bonsai are on display.

The Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary has also set up a stall showcasing the biodiversity of the Aravalli range. The Eco Task Force of the forest department has also set up a stall providing information about their environmental campaigns and tree plantation activities.

Under the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0” campaign, all visitors of the exhibition will be given a free sapling by the Delhi government.

Delhi chief secretary Dharmendra alos attended the inaugural event on Thursday, along with school students and other dignitaries.