BJP leaders, elected representatives and civic officials took part in plantation drives across Delhi on World Environment Day on Thursday under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign. Party leaders called for greater public participation in environmental conservation.
At a plantation programme organised by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) at Nehru Park in Chanakyapuri, BJP national president Nitin Nabin planted a Peepal sapling and felicitated several “Paryavaran Praharis” — individuals and groups recognised for their contribution to environmental protection in the NDMC area.
The event was attended by Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra, minister Parvesh Verma, New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj, NDMC Chairman Keshav Chandra, NDMC Vice-Chairman Kuljeet Singh Chahal, councillors and senior civic officials. Several participants also planted saplings in their mothers’ names under the campaign.
Addressing the gathering, Nabin said the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on World Environment Day in 2024, had grown into a nationwide people’s movement linking environmental conservation with respect for mothers. He urged citizens to plant and nurture trees to help create a cleaner and greener environment for future generations.
Chahal said the campaign had completed two years and successfully connected environmental protection with public participation. He said the NDMC continued to organise plantation drives throughout the year and remained committed to expanding green cover in the capital’s civic district.
Highlighting the NDMC’s environmental efforts, Chahal said nearly 55 per cent of its 42.74 sq km area was under green cover. The civic body maintains around 1,450 acres of parks and gardens, including Nehru Park, Lodhi Garden and Sanjay Lake.
Meanwhile, plantation drives were organised across all 256 BJP mandals in Delhi as part of the campaign. Party leaders said senior BJP functionaries, MPs, ministers and office-bearers participated in tree plantation programmes across the city.
At another World Environment Day event, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri took part in a plantation drive at Maidan Garhi.
Harsh Malhotra planted a sapling at a DDA park in East Delhi’s Saini Enclave and urged citizens to turn environmental conservation into a mass movement. He said that if every individual planted and cared for a tree in their mother’s name, it would significantly increase the country’s green cover in the coming years.
Several other BJP leaders, including MPs Yogender Chandolia and Praveen Khandelwal, former Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal and Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay, also joined plantation drives at different locations across the city.
Party leaders said the campaign aimed to combine environmental awareness with an emotional appeal, encouraging citizens to plant trees in honour of their mothers and take responsibility for their care.
