Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, extended greetings to all residents of the capital on the occasion of Van Mahotsav 2026, calling on citizens to plant at least one sapling this week in honour of their mothers under the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign.

Context

Posting on 1 July 2026, CM Gupta wrote in Hindi: 'वृक्ष प्रकृति का श्रृंगार होने के साथ ही हमारे जीवन और भविष्य का आधार हैं' — 'Trees are not only nature's adornment but also the foundation of our life and future.' She described making environmental conservation a 'jan andolan' (people's movement) as a core resolve of her administration.

She specifically urged every Delhiite to participate in the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' (One Tree in Mother's Name) campaign and plant a sapling during the Van Mahotsav week, saying the effort would contribute meaningfully to making Delhi greener and pollution-free.

Policy Backdrop

Van Mahotsav is an annual week-long tree-planting festival observed across India in the first week of July each year, dating back to 1950 when it was initiated by then-Union Agriculture Minister K.M. Munshi to promote afforestation. The festival aligns tree-planting drives with the onset of the monsoon season, when survival rates for saplings are highest.

The 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign is a nationwide initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to encourage citizens to plant a tree in their mother's honour, framing environmental action as a personal and emotional commitment. The campaign has been adopted by state governments across the country as a mobilisation tool for urban and rural greening drives.

Delhi consistently ranks among India's most polluted major cities, with air quality frequently breaching hazardous thresholds during winter months. Urban tree cover is widely recognised by environmental experts as one of the longer-term structural interventions that can moderate heat island effects, improve air quality, and increase groundwater recharge in dense urban areas.

Stakeholders and Impact

The call to action is directed at Delhi's approximately 2 crore residents, inviting mass participation in a single planting week. If even a fraction of households respond, the cumulative addition to the capital's green cover could be significant, particularly in under-canopied residential and peri-urban zones.

Civic bodies including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) are typically the implementing arms for Van Mahotsav drives, coordinating sapling distribution at parks, nurseries, and community centres. Schools and resident welfare associations have historically been active participants in the festival.

What's Next

With Van Mahotsav week running through the first week of July 2026, the administration is expected to organise sapling distribution events and community plantation drives across Delhi's districts. The Chief Minister's public appeal signals that the government intends to position the campaign as a visible, citizen-led environmental initiative rather than a purely departmental exercise. How effectively the administration converts the social media call into on-ground participation will be an early indicator of whether the 'people's movement' framing translates into measurable increases in Delhi's tree cover.