Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan participated in a tree plantation drive at ICAR-CMFRI, Visakhapatnam, on World Environment Day, 5 June 2026, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' (One Tree in Mother's Name) campaign.

Context

Posting on X, Minister Paswan wrote: 'Aaj Vishwa Paryavaran Diwas ke avsar par Visakhapatnam sthit ICAR-CMFRI mein... vrikshaaropan kiya' — 'Today, on the occasion of World Environment Day, tree plantation was carried out at ICAR-CMFRI, Visakhapatnam, under the honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's campaign Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam.' The post was accompanied by four photographs from the event at the coastal research institute.

ICAR-CMFRI — the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research — is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and is among India's premier institutions for marine fisheries and coastal ecology research. Its coastal location makes it a symbolically fitting venue for an environmental observance.

Policy Backdrop

Prime Minister Modi publicly launched the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign on World Environment Day 2024, calling on citizens across the country to plant trees as a tribute to their mothers. The campaign has since been integrated into government-led plantation drives at central institutions, including ICAR centres.

The drive sits within a broader framework of national environmental commitments, including the National Mission for Green India — approved in 2014 as part of India's National Action Plan on Climate Change — which targets the expansion and improvement of forest and tree cover. Coastal states such as Andhra Pradesh have been repeatedly chosen for such events, given their heightened vulnerability to climate-related impacts and the presence of established marine-research infrastructure.

Stakeholders and Impact

The event directly engages ICAR-CMFRI's scientific community and extends the campaign's reach to coastal Andhra Pradesh, a region where mangrove and coastal vegetation loss has been a documented concern. By hosting the drive at a research institute, the government signals an intent to link symbolic public-participation campaigns with the scientific ecosystem.

Coastal communities dependent on marine resources stand to benefit from sustained afforestation along the shoreline, which can buffer against storm surges and support biodiversity. The involvement of a Union Cabinet minister in the plantation underscores the central government's emphasis on high-visibility participation in the campaign.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to whether the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign is expanded to additional ICAR institutes and state-level plantation targets ahead of the 2026-27 monsoon planting season, which offers the most favourable conditions for tree survival. The campaign's progress may also feature in environment-related discussions during the upcoming parliamentary monsoon session.