Shivraj calls for tree plantation on Hariyali Amavasya, Aug 12
Synopsis
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has called on citizens and Vriksh Mitra Parivar volunteers to plant trees on Hariyali Amavasya, 12 August 2026, framing the traditional Shravan new-moon festival as a moment for active environmental commitment rather than symbolic observance.
Key Takeaways
Hariyali Amavasya falls on 12 August 2026 , the new moon of the Shravan month, traditionally linked to greenery and agricultural hope.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has pledged to personally plant trees in Delhi on that day alongside associates.
The Vriksh Mitra Parivar volunteer collective has resolved to celebrate the festival solely through plantation drives across villages and cities.
Chouhan urged citizens to upload their plantation photos and publicly declare their commitment, turning individual acts into a collective record.
The campaign connects to India's Van Mahotsav tradition of public afforestation, dating to 1950 , and Chouhan's own plantation drives during his tenure as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister .
With Hariyali Amavasya falling on 12 August 2026, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has turned a traditional new-moon festival into a nationwide call to plant trees — urging citizens to let action, not words, express their gratitude to nature.
The festival and its green pledge
Hariyali Amavasya, observed on the new moon of the Shravan month, is rooted in the agricultural calendar — a moment when fields are lush and the promise of a new harvest hangs in the air. Chouhan framed it precisely that way: 'चारों तरफ खेतों में फैली हरियाली और नई फसल के आने की उम्मीद मन को आनंद से भर देती है' ('The greenery spread across fields on all sides, and the hope of a new crop, fills the heart with joy'). Every festival, he argued, carries a scientific vision — and this one is nature's own.
The minister announced he will personally plant trees in Delhi alongside several associates on 12 August, and called on members of the Vriksh Mitra Parivar — a volunteer collective linked to his environmental outreach — to do the same in their own villages and towns.
Vriksh Mitra Parivar's collective resolve
The Vriksh Mitra Parivar has collectively pledged to mark the festival exclusively through plantation drives — no ceremony without a sapling. Chouhan invited the public to join the movement, upload photos of their plantings, and declare their commitment publicly. He also asked those wishing to join the large-scale drive to register via a missed call.
The appeal sits within a long tradition of linking Indian festivals to environmental action. India's Van Mahotsav, launched in 1950, established the template of mass public afforestation tied to civic participation. Chouhan, during his four terms as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, ran several state-level plantation campaigns, and this initiative extends that lineage to the national stage.
From ritual to responsibility
The sharper edge of Chouhan's message is the pivot from observance to obligation. 'Gratitude to nature,' he said, 'should be expressed not merely in words, but through planting trees.' It is a direct challenge to performative environmentalism — and a mobilisation tool dressed in cultural clothing. Whether participation numbers on 12 August match the ambition of the call will be the real measure of the campaign's reach.
Point of View
It also reinforces the ministry's alignment with rural and farming communities for whom the Shravan harvest season carries lived meaning. The Vriksh Mitra Parivar gives the drive an organisational spine, but the real test is whether the social-upload mechanism converts passive well-wishers into documented participants. If it does, the model could scale into a replicable template for festival-linked environmental mobilisation at the national level.
NationPress
9 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Hariyali Amavasya and when does it fall in 2026?
Hariyali Amavasya is a traditional Hindu festival observed on the new moon day of the Shravan month, celebrating greenery and gratitude toward nature. In 2026 it falls on 12 August .
What did Shivraj Singh Chouhan announce for Hariyali Amavasya 2026?
Chouhan called on citizens and Vriksh Mitra Parivar volunteers to plant trees on 12 August 2026 to mark the festival, and announced he will personally participate in a plantation drive in Delhi .
What is Vriksh Mitra Parivar?
Vriksh Mitra Parivar is a volunteer collective associated with Shivraj Singh Chouhan that focuses on tree plantation and environmental outreach activities.
How can people participate in the Hariyali Amavasya plantation drive?
Citizens can plant a tree on 12 August 2026 , upload their plantation photos to the campaign website, and register interest in the large-scale drive by giving a missed call to the number shared by the minister.
What is India's Van Mahotsav and how does this campaign relate to it?
Van Mahotsav is India's annual tree-planting week launched in 1950 to encourage public afforestation. Chouhan's Hariyali Amavasya drive builds on that tradition by linking a religious festival to mass citizen-led plantation.
