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Emotional Green Initiative: Haryana encourages residents to plant trees in memory of their mothers to promote environmental conservation.
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Community Engagement: The Campaign fosters public participation by linking tree planting to familial sentiment and pride.
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Alignment with Sustainability: Initiative supports Haryana’s broader ecological goals, including water conservation and urban greening.
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Tech-Supported Execution: Plantation drives to be monitored via digital platforms for transparency and impact assessment.
Chandigarh: Haryana has launched an innovative campaign, ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ (One Tree in Mother’s Name), calling on citizens to plant trees in honor of their mothers as a heartfelt tribute to both family and the environment. The initiative, reviewed in a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, aims to deepen the state’s commitment to sustainability while fostering emotional connections to nature.
The campaign adopts a “Whole of Society” approach, encouraging individuals, families, and community groups to participate in plantation drives across rural and urban areas. By tying tree planting to the sentiment of honoring mothers, the initiative aims to inspire widespread participation, particularly among young people. Rastogi emphasized that the campaign will integrate with national missions, such as Jal Shakti Abhiyan and Swachh Bharat Mission, focusing on areas like riverbanks, canal bunds, and Amrit Sarovars to support water conservation efforts.
To ensure effective implementation, Deputy Commissioners will establish District Plantation Committees to identify suitable planting sites and coordinate the distribution of saplings. The State Forest Department has made 1.81 crore saplings available across 200 nurseries in 22 districts, with details accessible on haryanaforest.gov.in. Schools will play a key role, with Eco Clubs under the Department of School Education leading student-driven efforts to cultivate environmental awareness through plantation initiatives.
Real-time monitoring will be facilitated through the MeriLiFE portal (https://merilife.nic.in) and a dedicated MissionLiFE microsite for school plantations. Additionally, the state will launch social media campaigns to amplify the message, encouraging citizens to share stories of planting trees in their mothers’ names. This emotional appeal is expected to strengthen community ownership and sustain long-term environmental impact.
Additional Chief Secretary Anand Mohan Sharan noted that Haryana’s previous plantation drives have been highly successful, with 1.87 crore saplings planted in the 2024-25 fiscal year. The ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign builds on this legacy, blending cultural values with ecological goals to create a greener, more sustainable Haryana.