Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri participated in the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam tree-planting drive in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday, 20 June 2026, heeding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to plant a tree in the name of one's mother.

Sharing the moment on X, Puri wrote: 'Trees convey a message of universal compassion, love and hope to humanity. They selflessly provide food, shade, oxygen, and medicine to all living beings while themselves standing under the scorching sun.' He added that he had heeded PM Modi's call to plant a tree under the #Ek_Ped_Maa_Ke_Naam initiative in Sonbhadra.

Context

Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam — translated as 'One Tree in the Name of Mother' — is a nationwide campaign launched by Prime Minister Modi in 2024 to encourage every citizen to plant a sapling as a tribute to their mother and as a contribution to afforestation. The campaign blends emotional resonance with an environmental objective, seeking to embed tree-planting as a personal, cultural act rather than a bureaucratic exercise.

Sonbhadra, a district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, is known for its mineral wealth and forested tracts. The district's landscape makes it a symbolically apt location for a visible plantation event by a senior central minister.

Policy Backdrop

India has committed to expanding its forest and tree cover under its nationally determined contributions to global climate agreements. Large-scale plantation drives have been a recurring instrument of successive central governments to demonstrate progress toward those targets. The involvement of ministers from non-environment portfolios — such as petroleum — signals the government's intent to frame afforestation as a whole-of-government priority rather than the domain of the environment ministry alone.

Uttar Pradesh has been a frequent venue for high-profile plantation events under both central and state BJP leadership, reflecting the political salience of green initiatives in the country's most populous state.

Stakeholders and Impact

The campaign's primary stakeholders are Indian citizens and state governments, who are expected to translate the call to action into ground-level planting activity. When senior ministers participate publicly, it reinforces the message to party cadres, district administrations, and the general public that the drive carries political weight at the highest levels.

Environmental experts and civil society groups have consistently noted that the long-term value of such drives depends on sapling survival rates and follow-up maintenance — factors that are monitored unevenly across states.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to state-level reporting on how many saplings have been planted under Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam across Uttar Pradesh and whether the central government releases a consolidated review of afforestation targets linked to the campaign. With the monsoon season approaching, plantation activity is expected to intensify, as post-monsoon soil conditions are considered optimal for sapling survival.