The Chief Minister's Office of Odisha announced on 8 July 2026 that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi participated in the 77th State-Level Van Mahotsav, using the occasion to outline an ambitious afforestation roadmap for the state.

Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister stated that 5.65 lakh saplings had been planted across 774 hectares in the financial year 2025-26. For 2026-27, the government has set a target of planting approximately 9 lakh saplings across 2,702 hectares — nearly 3.5 times the area covered in the previous year.

Context

Van Mahotsav is an annual tree-planting festival observed across India since 1950, when it was launched by then Union Minister K.M. Munshi to promote afforestation and forest conservation. Odisha has observed a state-level edition of the event each year since the programme's inception. The 77th edition marks seven and a half decades of this tradition.

Chief Minister Majhi, who has headed the BJP-led state government since June 2024, has positioned environmental stewardship alongside infrastructure and welfare as a policy pillar. His attendance at the state-level ceremony signals the administration's intent to elevate the profile of annual plantation drives.

Policy Backdrop

Odisha's plantation activities are guided in part by the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) framework, established under amendments to the Forest Conservation Act in 2009. Funds accumulated under CAMPA — generated when forest land is diverted for mining or infrastructure — are channelled back into afforestation and forest management.

The state's targets also align with the National Forest Policy of 1988, which set a long-term goal of bringing 33 per cent of India's land area under forest and tree cover. Odisha, which holds one of the country's larger forest estates, has faced pressure to offset forest diversion driven by its significant mining sector. India's climate commitments under the Paris Agreement have added further urgency to state-level green cover expansion.

Stakeholders and Impact

The plantation drive directly benefits rural and forest-dependent communities across Odisha, many of whom rely on forest resources for livelihood, fuelwood, and non-timber forest produce. Scaled-up afforestation also supports state forest staff who are responsible for site preparation, sapling procurement, and post-planting maintenance.

The jump from 774 hectares in 2025-26 to a targeted 2,702 hectares in 2026-27 represents a significant logistical expansion. Achieving and sustaining the 9 lakh sapling target will depend on nursery capacity, monsoon conditions, and the survival rates of saplings planted in the previous cycle — a metric the Odisha Forest Department is expected to audit.

What's Next

The government is expected to integrate these plantation targets into the next state annual plan and the forthcoming CAMPA annual report. Independent assessments of sapling survival rates from the 2025-26 drive will be a key indicator of whether the expanded 2026-27 ambition is grounded in operational capacity.

With the monsoon season providing optimal planting conditions, the Odisha Forest Department is likely to begin ground-level operations across identified sites in the coming weeks, making the next few months critical for the programme's success.