Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini participated in tree-plantation activities under the 77th district-level Van Mahotsav programme in Sirsa on Thursday, 23 July 2026, lending state-level momentum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationwide Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (One Tree in Mother's Name) campaign.

Context

Posting in Hindi on X, CM Saini described his participation as an honour, writing that the campaign has given public involvement in afforestation 'a new direction.' He framed the act of planting a tree not merely as an environmental gesture but as 'reverence for one's mother, a duty towards nature, and a pledge for a safe and green future for coming generations.' He called on citizens to join the drive, plant as many saplings as possible, nurture them, and contribute to building 'a greener, more prosperous India.'

Sirsa, a district in south-western Haryana, hosted the district-level edition of the annual Van Mahotsav festival, with the Chief Minister present to plant saplings and address participants.

Policy Backdrop

Van Mahotsav is one of India's oldest afforestation traditions, launched nationally in 1950 by then-Agriculture Minister K.M. Munshi to popularise tree planting and forest conservation. Over seven decades, it has evolved into a calendar event observed at national, state, and district levels each monsoon season.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign in 2024 to deepen citizen ownership of green initiatives by attaching a personal, emotional dimension — dedicating a planted tree to one's mother — to what might otherwise be a routine civic exercise. The campaign has since been integrated into state-level plantation drives across the country.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of sustained Van Mahotsav drives are Haryana's residents, who stand to gain from improved green cover, better air quality, and ecological restoration in districts like Sirsa — an area historically characterised by semi-arid conditions. Afforestation volunteers and local community groups form the operational backbone of such events.

At a national level, state-level plantation events feed into India's broader commitments on forest cover expansion and climate goals. Linking the drives to the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam framework is designed to convert one-time participants into long-term stewards of planted saplings, addressing a persistent challenge in afforestation programmes: sapling survival beyond the planting season.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to how Haryana's 2026 Van Mahotsav plantation figures are reported and audited, particularly sapling survival rates — a metric that determines the real-world impact of such drives beyond the event itself. Any central government review of the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign's cumulative reach since 2024 will also offer a clearer picture of whether the emotional framing has translated into measurable green gains. CM Saini's visible participation signals that Haryana intends to remain an active partner in the national afforestation push through the remainder of the monsoon window.