Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, joined Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the launch of Mission 70 Lakh Paudhaaropan — a large-scale plantation drive — alongside the inauguration and foundation-laying of multiple development projects in the national capital.

Context

Chief Minister Gupta shared a live-stream of the event on social media, describing it as the 'Mission 70 Lakh Paudhaaropan ka shubhaarambh' — the formal launch of a mission to plant 70 lakh (7 million) saplings across Delhi. The event also featured the 'lokarpan aur shilaanyas' (inauguration and foundation-laying) of several unspecified projects, reflecting a dual focus on green cover and urban infrastructure.

Home Minister Amit Shah presided over the ceremony, marking a notable instance of central government participation in a Delhi-specific environmental and development drive.

Policy Backdrop

Large-scale numerical plantation missions have been a recurring feature of both national and state-level climate and urban development policy in India. The National Mission for a Green India, launched in 2014, set a precedent for expanding forest and tree cover in urban territories, including Delhi.

Delhi faces persistent challenges around air quality and shrinking green cover, making urban plantation drives a politically and environmentally significant undertaking. Central ministers from the Union Home Ministry have periodically supported such state-level initiatives, underlining the importance of central-state coordination on environmental targets.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of the 70 lakh sapling target are Delhi's residents, who stand to gain from improved air quality, reduced urban heat, and expanded public green spaces if the mission achieves its stated scale. Urban local bodies in the capital will bear the primary responsibility for implementation, site selection, and maintenance of the planted saplings.

The simultaneous inauguration and foundation-laying of multiple projects suggests the event was designed to signal broad administrative momentum across both environmental and infrastructure fronts in the capital.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the timeline and monitoring mechanism for achieving the 70 lakh plantation target, including any dedicated budgetary allocations that may be announced in forthcoming Delhi Legislative Assembly sessions. Progress reports and third-party audits of sapling survival rates will be key indicators of whether the mission translates from a ceremonial launch into measurable green cover gains for the city.