Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Saturday, 6 June 2026, participated in a state-level event in Raipur marking World Environment Day, formally launching the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' (One Tree in Mother's Name) campaign 2026-27 and personally planting saplings to underscore the state's commitment to environmental conservation.

Context

Posting on X, CM Sai announced his participation in the Raipur ceremony with the message: 'हरियाली का विस्तार, बेहतर भविष्य का आधार' ('Expanding greenery is the foundation of a better future'). He stated that he had inaugurated the 2026-27 phase of the campaign and carried out sapling plantation, calling nature conservation 'our greatest responsibility towards future generations.' He urged citizens to join what he described as a 'jan abhiyan' — a people's movement — to increase green cover.

The event was held on the occasion of World Environment Day, the United Nations-designated annual observance on 5 June dedicated to global environmental awareness and action.

Policy Backdrop

The Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign was originally launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on World Environment Day in June 2024, inviting citizens across the country to plant a sapling as a tribute to their mothers. The initiative has since been adopted by BJP-governed states as an annual mobilisation effort aligned with national afforestation targets.

Chhattisgarh is among India's more forested states, yet faces sustained pressure from mining and industrial activity in its mineral-rich districts. The state participates in centrally sponsored forestry programmes that combine afforestation with livelihood support, particularly for tribal communities who depend on forest resources. India's broader afforestation push is anchored in its commitment under the 2015 Paris Agreement to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent through forest and tree cover by 2030.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of expanded plantation drives in Chhattisgarh include the state's forest department, tribal and rural communities whose livelihoods are intertwined with forest health, and the broader population that depends on the ecological services forests provide — from groundwater recharge to air quality. Sapling survival rates and actual area coverage under the 2026-27 phase will determine the campaign's on-ground impact.

Funds channelled through the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) are a key financing mechanism for such drives in Chhattisgarh, and the annual forest budget allocation will indicate the scale of official commitment behind the symbolic launch.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to whether the 2026-27 campaign translates into verifiable increases in green cover, with the state forest department expected to report on sapling distribution numbers and survival audits in the months ahead. The launch also sets the tone for Chhattisgarh's participation in any national-level reporting on India's Paris Agreement forestry commitments. Sustained community engagement — beyond the ceremonial launch — will be the measure of whether the 'jan abhiyan' framing holds in practice.