The Chief Minister's Office of Uttar Pradesh, citing Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, declared on Sunday, 12 July 2026 that the state has successfully expanded its forest and tree cover even as it recorded the highest number of highways, expressways, and airports built across any Indian state, alongside significant railway expansion and urbanisation. Posting under the hashtags #एक_पेड़_माँ_के_नाम ('Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' — One Tree in the Name of Mother), #PragatiBhiPrakritiBhi ('Progress as well as Nature'), and #GoGreen_UP, the office quoted CM Yogi Adityanath directly: 'Uttar Pradesh has seen the most highways, expressways, and airports built. Railways have expanded and urbanisation has occurred. Despite all this, we have succeeded in expanding the state's forest cover.'

Context

Uttar Pradesh has been at the centre of India's infrastructure push over the past several years, with multiple expressways — including the Purvanchal Expressway and the Bundelkhand Expressway — becoming operational, and new airports inaugurated across the state. Large-scale road and rail projects inevitably require land acquisition, including in some cases the diversion of forest or green land, making the claim of simultaneous green cover expansion politically and ecologically significant. The post frames the state's development trajectory under a dual mandate: economic infrastructure growth alongside environmental responsibility — captured in the campaign slogan Pragati Bhi Prakriti Bhi (Progress as well as Nature).

Policy Backdrop

The Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam initiative, a state-level afforestation drive, encourages citizens to plant trees in the name of their mothers. The campaign is part of a broader series of annual plantation drives that the Uttar Pradesh government has intensified since 2017, targeting degraded land, roadsides, and non-forest tracts for green cover expansion. At the national level, the National Green India Mission, launched in 2014, provides a funding and policy framework for states to increase forest and tree cover. Separately, statutory compensatory afforestation norms require developers and government agencies to plant trees to offset any forest land diverted for infrastructure projects — a mechanism that states including Uttar Pradesh have used to demonstrate net green cover gains even amid construction activity.

Stakeholders and Impact

For the residents of Uttar Pradesh — India's most populous state — the dual push on infrastructure and environment directly affects air quality, urban heat, biodiversity, and long-term livability. Environmental groups have consistently called for independent, verified data on net forest cover changes, noting that plantation on non-forest land and natural forest are ecologically distinct. The Forest Survey of India (FSI), which publishes the biennial India State of Forest Report, is the authoritative source for state-wise forest and tree cover data. The government's claims of expanded green cover will be benchmarked against the next FSI report when released.

What's Next

The immediate focus will be on ground-level implementation of the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam plantation drive during the ongoing monsoon season — traditionally the most active period for tree planting across Uttar Pradesh. Budget allocations for afforestation programmes under the 2026-27 state budget will indicate the financial commitment behind the political messaging. The release of the next India State of Forest Report by the FSI will provide independently verified numbers that either corroborate or complicate the state's narrative of simultaneous progress and environmental gain.