Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the Lake Beautification Campaign at Bhimtal on 5 June 2026, marking World Environment Day by planting a bougainvillea sapling in the name of his mother, Smt. Bishna Devi, under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (One Tree in the Name of Mother) campaign.

Context

Posting on X, CM Dhami wrote that he joined the lake beautification programme at Bhimtal on the occasion of World Environment Day and planted a bougainvillea sapling in the name of his 'revered mother, Smt. Bishna Devi' under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam Abhiyan. He also addressed the gathering, urging those present to commit themselves to the protection and promotion of the environment. Cabinet Minister Ram Singh Kaira and BJP District President Pratap Singh Bisht were among the dignitaries present at the event.

Policy Backdrop

The Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 June 2024, on the previous World Environment Day, as a nationwide tree-plantation drive encouraging citizens to plant a sapling in honour of their mothers. State governments across India, including Uttarakhand, have since integrated the campaign into local environmental and infrastructure events. Bhimtal, a prominent lake town in Nainital district, has been a focus of periodic beautification and conservation works that link ecological priorities with the region's tourism economy.

Stakeholders and Impact

Residents of Bhimtal and the broader Kumaon tourism sector stand to benefit from sustained lake beautification and plantation efforts, which address both environmental degradation and visitor infrastructure around the region's major water bodies. Coordinated drives of this kind, combining central campaign mandates with state-level execution, have become a recurring feature of environmental governance in the Himalayan states since 2024. The participation of district-level BJP leadership alongside a cabinet minister signals the event's role in mobilising local administrative and political networks for environmental goals.

What's Next

Further phases of the Bhimtal Lake Beautification project and a broader state-level review of plantation targets are expected following the 2026 monsoon season. Uttarakhand's integration of national campaigns such as Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam with local ecological priorities in the Nainital district will be watched as a model for Himalayan states balancing conservation and tourism development. The Chief Minister's personal participation reinforces the state government's public commitment to environmental stewardship ahead of the monsoon planting season.