Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan joined residents and family members at Smart City Park, Bhopal, on Sunday, 5 July 2026, to plant saplings as part of his ongoing personal commitment to daily tree plantation, amplifying the call through the #OnePlantADay campaign on social media.

Posting in Hindi, Chouhan described the act as 'माँ समान प्रकृति की सेवा का महा संकल्प' — 'a great resolve to serve nature, which is like a mother' — and urged citizens to collectively plant as many trees as possible to make the earth 'clean, beautiful and prosperous.'

Context

The event took place at Smart City Park, an urban green space in Bhopal developed under India's national Smart Cities Mission, which seeks to upgrade civic infrastructure and expand liveable public spaces in select cities. Chouhan was accompanied by younger family members — referred to in the post as bhanje-bhaanjiyan (nephews and nieces) and brothers and sisters — underscoring the family-level, participatory spirit of the drive.

The #OnePlantADay hashtag has been used to encourage individuals to make tree plantation a daily habit rather than a one-off gesture, aligning personal action with broader ecological goals.

Policy Backdrop

Chouhan has a long record of large-scale plantation drives. As Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for four terms, he oversaw campaigns that included a 2017 target of planting 5 crore trees across the state in a single drive. The emphasis on community participation in those campaigns set a template that the current social-media-driven push mirrors at an individual level.

At the national level, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the Nagar Van Yojana in 2020 to create urban forests with community involvement, providing a policy framework that complements city-level afforestation events such as the one held at Smart City Park.

Stakeholders and Impact

Urban families and city residents are the primary audience for such drives, which aim to improve local air quality, expand green cover, and build community ownership of public spaces. Experts and policymakers have consistently linked urban afforestation to carbon sequestration targets and biodiversity goals under India's climate commitments.

By conducting the plantation at a public park rather than an official venue, Chouhan signalled that the initiative is intended as a citizen-level movement rather than a government programme alone.

What's Next

With the 2026 monsoon season underway — the traditional window for large-scale plantation across India — state forest departments and urban local bodies in Madhya Pradesh and other states are expected to announce fresh targets. Any follow-up urban forestry goals from the Ministry of Environment or the Madhya Pradesh government will indicate whether the momentum built by individual pledges translates into measurable policy commitments.