Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, 12 July 2026, celebrated a Guinness World Record set in his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, where 3.61 lakh saplings were planted in a single hour using the Miyawaki method, crediting the achievement to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (One Tree in Mother's Name) campaign.

What Happened

Shah posted in both Hindi and Gujarati, describing the day as one of 'extreme joy' in the direction of the 'great environmental yajna' initiated by Modi. The record was achieved through the Miyawaki afforestation technique, a Japanese method of planting dense, multi-layered native forests in compact urban spaces, enabling rapid canopy growth. Shah extended congratulations to all residents of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha area for the 'historic achievement.'

Context: Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign on World Environment Day in June 2024, calling on citizens across India to plant trees as a tribute to their mothers, linking personal sentiment to national climate action. The campaign rapidly gained traction across states, with government departments, civic bodies, and volunteers organising large-scale plantation drives. Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat and Shah's parliamentary constituency, has now produced what is claimed to be a Guinness World Record under this initiative.

Policy Backdrop: Miyawaki and Urban Forestry

The Miyawaki method, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, involves planting native species at high density to create self-sustaining mini-forests that grow significantly faster than conventional plantations. Indian cities and municipalities have increasingly adopted this technique to boost urban green cover and meet national biodiversity and carbon targets. The Gandhinagar drive represents one of the largest single-hour Miyawaki plantation events recorded under a parliamentary constituency framework.

Stakeholders and Impact

The plantation drive directly involved residents, volunteers, and civic organisations of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency. If the saplings achieve standard Miyawaki survival rates, the resulting green patch could contribute measurably to local air quality, urban heat island mitigation, and biodiversity. The record also reinforces the competitive afforestation dynamic emerging among Lok Sabha constituencies since the campaign's launch, with multiple states scaling up drives to demonstrate environmental commitment.

What's Next

The Guinness certification process will determine the official status of the record, and environmentalists will watch long-term survival rates and carbon sequestration data from the plantation site. Similar record attempts are likely to follow in other parliamentary constituencies, as the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign continues to serve as a framework for competitive, large-scale afforestation across India. The Gandhinagar benchmark may set a new standard for constituency-level environmental drives heading into the next phase of India's climate commitments.