Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, 17 July declared that the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency's mass tree plantation drive has not concluded with the planting of 1.25 crore saplings — it has, in his words, 'only just begun.' Chairing a review meeting of campaign coordinators in Ahmedabad, Shah called for a sustained, long-term commitment to ensure every sapling survives and matures into a full-grown tree.

What the Review Meeting Covered

The meeting, held with coordinators of the 'Gandhinagar Lok Sabha – Green Lok Sabha' campaign, was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot, and elected representatives and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office-bearers from the Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency. Shah reviewed the plantation work completed so far and underscored the need for systematic care and maintenance of every sapling to maximise survival rates.

The campaign was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' initiative and organisers claim the plantation drive earned a place in the Guinness World Records.

What Shah Said

Addressing campaign coordinators, Shah expressed gratitude to party workers, civil organisations, and citizens for helping achieve the target. But he was emphatic that the harder task lies ahead. 'I sincerely thank everyone who helped take the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha Hariali Lok Sabha campaign to every household and fulfilled the resolve of planting trees. However, the campaign has not ended with the planting of 1.25 crore trees; it has only just begun,' he said.

Shah said the saplings must be nurtured so that, over the next 50 to 100 years, they grow into large trees capable of providing shade, clean air, and helping reduce ambient temperatures. He urged workers to treat tree care not as a political programme but as 'a religious and social duty.'

Invoking a verse from the Matsya Purana, Shah noted that planting and nurturing a tree has long been regarded as a virtuous act in Indian tradition. 'Society followed such teachings by preserving and growing trees; challenges such as global warming might not have emerged in their present form,' he said.

Chief Minister Patel's Commitment

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the plantation campaign had been executed in the spirit Shah envisioned and urged participants to carry the same commitment into the next phase. 'The work of planting trees has been completed. Now we must all fulfil our responsibility of nurturing them and helping them grow,' Patel said. He added that those present should assure Shah of '100 per cent commitment' to the sapling-care phase.

Patel also stressed that tree plantation is essential not only for human beings but for all living beings, and called on people to remain committed to protecting the environment for future generations.

Broader Significance

The Gandhinagar drive is part of a wider national push under the Modi government's environmental agenda, with the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign framing tree plantation as a personal and emotional act tied to maternal respect. Notably, the shift in focus from planting numbers to survival rates addresses a long-standing criticism of large-scale plantation drives in India — that headline sapling counts frequently overstate actual forest cover gains due to poor post-plantation maintenance. Shah's explicit emphasis on a 50-to-100-year nurturing horizon signals an attempt to move beyond optics toward measurable ecological outcomes.

How the constituency tracks and reports sapling survival rates in the months ahead will be the true measure of the campaign's environmental impact.