CM Yogi: UP completes 242 crore plantations in 9 years
Synopsis
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on 12 July 2026 that the state has completed 242 crore plantations in nine years. The drives, aligned with the Green India Mission, involve panchayats, schools, and forest officials in a sustained push to expand the state's green cover.
Key Takeaways
242 crore plantations have been completed in Uttar Pradesh over the past nine years , according to CM Yogi Adityanath .
The afforestation drives began in 2017 when the current state government took office.
A landmark single-day drive in 2019 claimed over 22 crore saplings planted across the state.
The campaigns are aligned with the Green India Mission , which targets 33 percent forest and tree cover of India's geographical area.
Local institutions including panchayats and schools have been key partners in executing annual plantation targets.
Sapling survival-rate audits remain a key metric that observers and ecologists are watching for independent verification.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday, 12 July 2026, highlighted that the state has completed 242 crore plantations over the past nine years, underscoring the government's sustained push to expand green cover across India's most populous state.
Context
In his post on X, CM Yogi Adityanath stated, 'पिछले 9 वर्षों के अंदर उत्तर प्रदेश में 242 करोड़ पौधरोपण संपन्न हुआ है' ('In the last 9 years, 242 crore plantations have been completed in Uttar Pradesh'). The announcement comes as the state continues its annual plantation drives, typically intensified during the monsoon season when conditions favour sapling survival.
The figure spans the tenure of the current government, which took office in 2017. Over this period, Uttar Pradesh has conducted successive large-scale afforestation campaigns involving local bodies, schools, and panchayats.
Policy Backdrop
The plantation drives in Uttar Pradesh are aligned with the Green India Mission, a central government framework first notified in 2014, which aims to increase the country's forest and tree cover to 33 percent of its geographical area. The state has used this national framework to anchor its own annual targets.
A notable milestone came in 2019, when the Uttar Pradesh government organised a single-day mass plantation drive claiming over 22 crore saplings planted across the state. Subsequent years saw similar drives, with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department tasked with executing targets and tracking outcomes. The cumulative 242 crore figure cited by CM Yogi reflects the aggregate across all such campaigns since 2017.
Stakeholders and Impact
Rural communities and forest officials are the primary stakeholders in these drives. Panchayats and schools have been mobilised as institutional partners, giving the campaigns a grassroots dimension beyond government departments alone.
Ecologists and policy observers have consistently noted that the ecological value of such drives depends significantly on sapling survival rates, which can vary based on species selection, soil conditions, and post-planting maintenance. The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department is responsible for monitoring these outcomes, though independent survival-rate audits remain an area of public interest.
What's Next
With the 2026 monsoon season underway, the state government is expected to announce its plantation target for the current year, building on the cumulative nine-year figure. Observers will watch for any official audit of sapling survival rates from previous seasons, which would add ecological credibility to the scale claimed. The data will also feed into Uttar Pradesh's contribution to India's broader commitments under national forest-cover targets.
Point of View
Allowing the BJP-led state government to frame its environmental record ahead of the next electoral cycle. The announcement fits a broader national pattern where state governments use large-scale plantation drives as visible, quantifiable governance deliverables. However, the ecological credibility of such campaigns increasingly hinges on survival-rate data, an area where independent verification has lagged behind headline numbers. How the government responds to demands for a rigorous sapling audit will determine whether this record is seen as a genuine ecological achievement or primarily a political one.
NationPress
12 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How many trees have been planted in Uttar Pradesh in the last 9 years?
According to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath , 242 crore plantations have been completed in Uttar Pradesh over the past nine years, from 2017 to 2026 .
What is the Green India Mission?
The Green India Mission is a central government framework first notified in 2014 that aims to increase India's forest and tree cover to 33 percent of the country's geographical area. Uttar Pradesh has aligned its annual plantation drives with this mission.
Who is responsible for plantation drives in Uttar Pradesh?
The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department is the primary state agency responsible for executing annual plantation targets and monitoring outcomes, with local partners such as panchayats and schools also playing a key role.
What was the biggest single-day plantation drive in UP?
In 2019 , the Uttar Pradesh government organised a single-day mass plantation drive that claimed over 22 crore saplings planted across the state, one of the largest such events in the current government's tenure.
Do all planted saplings survive in UP's plantation drives?
Sapling survival rates depend on species selection, soil conditions, and post-planting maintenance. Independent survival-rate audits of Uttar Pradesh's plantation drives have not been widely published, and ecologists consider this data essential to assessing the true ecological impact of the campaigns.
