Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma participated in a tree plantation drive on 2 July 2026 at Namo Van in Devmali village, Beawar district, planting saplings under both the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (One Tree in Mother's Name) initiative and the state's Hariyalo Rajasthan Abhiyan (Green Rajasthan Campaign). Sharma urged all residents of the state to fulfil their duty toward nature by planting and nurturing trees as part of building a greener, cleaner, and developed Rajasthan.

Context

Posting on X, CM Sharma wrote: 'Aaj Beawar jile ke Devmali gaon sthit Namo Van mein ek ped maa ke naam evam Hariyalo Rajasthan Abhiyan ke antargat vriksharopan kiya' — 'Today I planted trees at Namo Van in Devmali village, Beawar district, under the One Tree in Mother's Name and Hariyalo Rajasthan campaigns.' He described the Hariyalo Rajasthan Abhiyan as 'a pledge for the secure future of coming generations' and called on all state residents to participate in building a 'green, clean, and developed Rajasthan.'

The event took place at Namo Van, a dedicated plantation site developed under central and state green initiatives. Beawar district lies in the semi-arid belt of Rajasthan, making afforestation in the region particularly significant for ecological stability.

Policy Backdrop

The Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign was launched nationally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024, encouraging citizens across India to plant a tree in honour of their mothers as a mass ecological movement. The Hariyalo Rajasthan Abhiyan is the state government's own afforestation campaign aimed at expanding green cover and strengthening climate resilience in a state where large arid and semi-arid zones are vulnerable to desertification.

Rajasthan has a history of successive afforestation drives dating to earlier Hariyali Abhiyan programmes in the 2010s. The dual branding of the central and state schemes at this event reflects the Rajasthan government's approach of aligning state-level environmental programmes with Union-level priorities to maximise outreach and resources.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of sustained plantation drives are Rajasthan's rural communities, who face the direct consequences of soil erosion, water scarcity, and extreme heat intensified by low forest cover. Increased tree cover in districts like Beawar can improve local microclimates, support groundwater recharge, and provide livelihood resources such as timber and non-timber forest produce.

India has committed under the Bonn Challenge and its own National Forest Policy to restore and expand forest and tree cover to 33 per cent of the country's geographical area. Rajasthan's campaigns contribute to meeting these national and international targets, though the state's arid geography makes achieving and sustaining cover a long-term challenge.

What's Next

The monsoon season, which typically spans July to September, is the primary window for large-scale plantation activity in Rajasthan, as soil moisture improves sapling survival rates. Authorities and environmental observers will watch whether the state expands Namo Van sites to additional districts and tracks sapling survival data to measure the campaign's ecological impact beyond the planting event itself.

Sustained community participation — the outcome CM Sharma explicitly called for — will be critical to converting single-day drives into lasting green cover across the state's vast and ecologically stressed landscape.