Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan planted a sapling in New Delhi on Friday, 29 May 2026, continuing his self-declared daily tree-planting pledge and calling on citizens across India to join the 'Shiv Vriksh Mitra' initiative by giving a missed call to 8929629475.

Context

Posting under the hashtag #OnePlantADay, Chouhan wrote in Hindi: 'प्रतिदिन पौधरोपण के संकल्प के क्रम में आज नई दिल्ली में पौधा रोपा' ('In continuation of the daily tree-planting pledge, I planted a sapling today in New Delhi'). He described planting trees as the greatest service one can render to the sacred earth that sustains life, urging every citizen to enrich the planet and make life meaningful through afforestation.

The minister's post ends with an open invitation: 'Let us all take a pledge together to save nature.' The missed-call mechanism — a low-barrier, mobile-first engagement tool — is positioned as the gateway to becoming a 'Shiv Vriksh Mitra', or friend of trees under the Shiv Vriksh Mitra citizen-engagement scheme.

Policy Backdrop

India's tradition of state-led afforestation stretches back to 1950, when Van Mahotsav — the annual tree-planting festival — was launched to promote widespread green cover and environmental awareness. Successive governments have built on that foundation through the National Forest Policy and the Green India Mission, both of which set targets for expanding forest and tree cover as part of India's climate commitments, including pledges to create additional carbon sinks.

Tree-plantation drives are routinely championed by ministers from agriculture, environment, and rural development portfolios. The emphasis on individual daily action — rather than a single mass event — reflects a deliberate shift toward embedding environmental behaviour into everyday routine, a pattern increasingly visible in government-backed campaigns.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary audience is urban citizens and environmental volunteers who can register their participation through a simple missed call, requiring no smartphone app or internet access. This design broadens reach to semi-urban and rural populations as well, aligning with Chouhan's long-standing rural-development focus as a former four-term Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and current Union Minister for Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Rural Development.

If the campaign gains traction during the approaching monsoon season — the optimal window for sapling survival in most Indian agro-climatic zones — it could contribute meaningfully to state forest department plantation tallies and support India's broader carbon-sink targets under its Nationally Determined Contributions.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to whether the Shiv Vriksh Mitra registration numbers are disclosed publicly and whether the campaign is formally integrated into ongoing Green India Mission activities or upcoming monsoon-season plantation drives coordinated by state forest departments. Chouhan's daily pledge also sets a visible personal benchmark — any lapse or continuation will itself become a measure of political commitment to the environmental agenda.