The Chief Minister's Office of Gujarat announced on Sunday, 12 July 2026 that Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated 101 Oxygen Parks developed across various areas of Ahmedabad, along with a mass tree-plantation drive under the Mission Five Million Trees initiative of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). The event also saw the inauguration and groundbreaking of development works worth a combined ₹405 crore by AMC, AUDA, and the Roads and Buildings Department.

Context

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi, and Urban Development Minister of State Darshana Vaghela were present alongside other dignitaries at the ceremony. The occasion combined an environmental milestone — the collective plantation of trees under the five-million-tree target — with the formal launch and foundation-laying of multiple urban infrastructure projects across the city.

The CMO's post, originally in Gujarati, describes the event as a convergence of green-city goals and civic development, with Shah presiding over the proceedings in his capacity as a senior Union minister with deep roots in Ahmedabad.

Policy Backdrop

Mission Five Million Trees is AMC's large-scale urban forestry programme aimed at significantly expanding Ahmedabad's green cover. The concept of oxygen parks gained traction in Gujarat during 2021, when several cities developed dedicated green spaces as part of post-COVID public-health initiatives linking urban forestry with community well-being.

Urban infrastructure funding in Ahmedabad has also been supported by the Centre's AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) scheme, launched in 2015, which has channelled resources toward green spaces and civic amenities in Gujarat's municipalities. The ₹405 crore package covers projects under three separate agencies — AMC, AUDA (Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority), and the state's Roads and Buildings Department — reflecting a coordinated multi-agency approach to city development.

Stakeholders and Impact

The 101 Oxygen Parks are intended to serve residents across multiple neighbourhoods of Ahmedabad, providing accessible green recreational spaces and improving local air quality. The mass plantation drive under Mission Five Million Trees directly benefits the city's urban ecology, with AMC responsible for the long-term maintenance and upkeep of the planted trees and park infrastructure.

The broader ₹405 crore development package — spanning road works, urban planning projects, and building infrastructure — is expected to improve connectivity and civic amenities for Ahmedabad's population of over 80 lakh. Central-state coordination on such combined green-and-infrastructure events has been a recurring feature of BJP-governed states since 2019, with senior Union ministers frequently co-inaugurating state-level projects.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the rollout milestones under the Mission Five Million Trees target and the maintenance arrangements for all 101 Oxygen Parks — a logistical challenge for AMC given the scale of the initiative. Progress on the ₹405 crore infrastructure works, including timelines for completion of the newly groundbroken projects, will be closely tracked by Ahmedabad's urban local bodies and residents alike.

The event signals that Ahmedabad is positioning itself as a model for combining urban greening with infrastructure investment, a template that other Gujarat cities may be encouraged to replicate in the months ahead.