Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched the “Mission 70 Lakh Plantation” campaign in New Delhi, an ambitious initiative aimed at transforming large tracts of the capital’s Ridge area into dense forest cover over the coming years. The launch event was attended by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, and several other senior functionaries.
Addressing the gathering, Shah pointed to a long standing anomaly in Delhi’s green cover, noting that much of what appears as greenery in the Ridge area actually consists of invasive, thorny and poisonous species that do little to support the local ecosystem. He recalled that 7,784 hectares of the Ridge were notified under the Indian Forest Act as far back as 1994, yet the final notification remained pending for three decades, a delay the Delhi government has now moved to correct by formally declaring 5,000 hectares as forest land.
Shah said the administration intends to extend legal protection to the entire Ridge, reshaping its biodiversity, soil and water systems, and, in turn, the broader environment of the capital. Under the plan, long living native species such as peepal, banyan, neem, gular, arjun and jamun will be planted across the region over the next three years, with the goal of establishing what he described as the lungs of a green Delhi.
Linking the initiative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign, Shah said indiscriminate felling of trees has widened gaps in the ozone layer and disturbed the earth’s temperature balance, a problem he said only sustained afforestation can meaningfully address. He appealed to Delhi’s residents to plant at least one tree in their mother’s name, and to involve children in the effort so that the next generation carries forward the vision of a green capital.
The Home Minister urged citizens to use the Green Drive Portal to book plantation slots, and to make use of vacant land in schools, colonies, temples and housing societies. He noted that free saplings are being distributed through the Delhi government’s Vriksh Rath programme, with a Nursery Locator facility also available to help residents find nearby nurseries.
Officials said the Centre and the Delhi government have jointly resolved to fully develop 6,300 hectares of the Ridge into protected forest land within four years, involving the plantation of over one crore native saplings, including 65 lakh large canopy trees. BJP leaders Manoj Tiwari, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Parvesh Verma were also present at the launch.
