The Chief Minister's Office of Gujarat announced on Sunday, 12 July 2026 that the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has set a Guinness World Record by planting 3.61 lakh trees in a single hour using the Miyawaki method at Bhadaj, Ahmedabad, as part of a mass afforestation drive aimed at making the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency a 'Green Parliamentary Constituency.'

What happened

The CMO Gujarat post, in Gujarati, states that the record was achieved 'ઘનિષ્ઠ વૃક્ષારોपण અભિયાન' ('an intensive tree plantation drive') conducted under the inspiration of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah and the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The plantation covered an area of approximately 91,006 square metres at Bhadaj, with more than 25,000 volunteers participating enthusiastically in the event.

The post declares that the record-setting effort is 'an important milestone in the field of environmental protection and green development' for Ahmedabad city. The drive was organised by AMC as part of a broader resolve to realise a greener future for the Gandhinagar parliamentary region.

Context

The Miyawaki method, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, involves planting native species in dense clusters to accelerate forest growth — typically producing results up to ten times faster than conventional plantation techniques. Indian municipal bodies, including those in Pune, Mumbai and Chennai, began adopting the method from 2019 onward for rapid urban greening.

Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency — the seat held by Amit Shah — encompasses parts of both Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Large-scale plantation drives in this constituency carry both ecological and political significance, linking urban greening targets directly to the region's parliamentary representative.

Policy backdrop

Gujarat has conducted annual Van Mahotsav tree plantation drives since the 1950s, with ambitions intensifying after 2014 to expand green cover across urban and peri-urban areas. The state's urban greening push is framed as part of broader climate-resilience measures, aligning with central government priorities on increasing India's forest cover and reducing urban air pollution.

The AMC coordinated across multiple institutions to execute this drive. Participants included AMC officers and staff, the School Board, BAPS Sanstha, CRADAI, police staff, NCC cadets, various NGOs, educational institutions, social organisations and Ahmedabad citizens — reflecting a broad-based community mobilisation model increasingly employed in BJP-governed states for record-setting environmental events.

Stakeholders and impact

The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, a major socio-spiritual organisation with an extensive volunteer network, was among the key institutional partners. Their participation, alongside NCC cadets and civic NGOs, helped mobilise the more than 25,000 active participants cited in the post.

For Ahmedabad residents, the Miyawaki forest at Bhadaj is expected to contribute to urban cooling, biodiversity, and air quality improvement over the coming years. Dense Miyawaki plantations typically achieve canopy closure within three to five years, offering faster ecological returns than conventional parks.

What's next

The official Guinness World Records verification and ratification process will be a key milestone to watch. Similar one-hour plantation attempts in other Gujarat parliamentary constituencies may follow, given the stated goal of making the Gandhinagar constituency a model 'Green Lok Sabha constituency.' The scale of community participation at Bhadaj could serve as a template for replication across Gujarat's urban local bodies.