CM Bhupendra Patel Plants Trees Under 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 3.0'
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel participated in a tree plantation drive at B.N. High School on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, under the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 3.0' campaign, urging citizens to instil conservation values in the next generation.
Context
Posting in Gujarati, CM Patel wrote: 'એક પેડ માઁ કે નામ 3.0' અભિયાન હેઠળ બી. એન. હાઈસ્કુલમાં વૃક્ષારોपण કર્યું — ('Planted trees at B.N. High School under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 3.0 campaign'). He added that it is 'very necessary that we all, with full awareness and responsibility, sow the values of tree plantation and tree conservation in the new generation.' The event was held alongside the annual Shala Praveshotsav 2026 school enrolment festival, linking environmental action directly to the academic calendar.
Policy Backdrop
The 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign was originally launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024 as a national afforestation initiative encouraging every citizen to plant a tree in the name of their mother, weaving ecological responsibility into a personal and cultural act. Gujarat has adopted successive phases of the drive, with the current iteration — version 3.0 — extending the campaign into school premises to reach children at an early, formative stage. Tying plantation drives to Shala Praveshotsav, the state's flagship annual school enrolment event, amplifies both the reach and the symbolic weight of the initiative.
Stakeholders and Impact
School students and the broader young generation are the primary audience, with B.N. High School serving as a visible demonstration site. By conducting the drive within a school campus, the state signals that environmental stewardship is as much a part of a child's education as classroom learning. Gujarat has repeatedly used public institutions — particularly schools — as platforms for behavioural change on climate and biodiversity, a pattern consistent with central government green mandates.
What's Next
Attention will now turn to how widely the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 3.0 drive is rolled out across Gujarat schools during the 2026 academic session. State authorities may also be expected to conduct tree survival audits to measure the long-term impact of plantation activities carried out under earlier phases of the campaign. The convergence of the environment drive with Shala Praveshotsav suggests the state intends to make conservation a recurring feature of the annual school calendar going forward.