Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday, 23 July 2026, renewed his public appeal for citizens across the state to participate in the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign, urging every individual to plant at least one tree dedicated to their mother as part of an ongoing afforestation drive.

Context

In his post on X, CM Yogi wrote: 'मेरी अपील है कि- हर एक व्यक्ति 'एक पेड़ माँ के नाम' लगाए' — translated as, 'My appeal is that every single person should plant a tree in the name of their mother.' The message, shared with a video, is directed at the general public and carries an emotional resonance by linking environmental action to maternal reverence.

The appeal comes during the monsoon season, widely regarded as the most favourable period for tree plantation in the Indian subcontinent. State governments and the central government have historically timed large-scale planting drives to coincide with the rains to maximise sapling survival rates.

Policy Backdrop

The Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam initiative is part of a broader national push for citizen-led afforestation, aligning with India's long-standing Van Mahotsav programme — an annual tree-planting festival first launched in 1950 — and with the current central government's emphasis on public participation in environmental action.

Uttar Pradesh has conducted large-scale plantation drives every year since 2017, with targets running into tens of millions of saplings annually. These drives are coordinated by the state forest department and typically involve district administrations, schools, and community bodies. The Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam framing adds a cultural and emotional dimension to what might otherwise be a routine government directive, aiming to deepen voluntary participation.

The campaign also aligns with India's commitments under its Nationally Determined Contributions to increase forest and tree cover as part of its climate obligations, making citizen plantation drives a point of convergence between state-level mobilisation and national climate policy.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary audience for this appeal is the general public of Uttar Pradesh — one of India's most populous states — whose voluntary participation is central to achieving the drive's scale. The state forest department is the key implementing body, responsible for distributing saplings, monitoring plantation sites, and compiling participation data.

By invoking the image of a mother, the campaign seeks to transcend political messaging and appeal to a universal sentiment, potentially broadening participation beyond party workers and government employees to ordinary households. Environmental groups and schools have historically been active partners in such state-run drives.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to whether the state government releases data on sapling distribution, total trees planted, and survival rates at the close of the 2026 monsoon season. Such figures are typically used to assess the real-world impact of the drive beyond the publicity it generates.

Any integration of this campaign's outcomes with national afforestation targets or central government reporting frameworks will be a key indicator of how the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam initiative feeds into India's larger green-cover ambitions in the years ahead.