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Environmental protection has always been given the highest place in Indian culture and Sanatan civilization. Our ancestors never considered nature as just an object of consumption, but attached a relationship of reverence and participation with it. A very famous verse from Matsya Purana is the biggest written evidence of this:
Dashakupasama vapi, dashavapisamo hradah.
Dashahradasama putro, dashputrasamo drumah.
In other words: There is one stepwell (water harvesting center) equal to ten wells, one huge pond equal to ten stepwells, one capable son equal to ten ponds and A single tree is equal to ten sons.
In this verse, the importance of a tree is considered more than that of a son because a son becomes the basis of only one family, whereas a tree becomes the basis of many generations to come. Today, the large-scale tree plantation campaign being carried out in Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is actually a modern and administrative extension of this ancient Indian sage tradition.
The irony of a decade ago and the crisis of 2017
Uttar Pradesh may have been a holy place of pilgrimage for sages, but in the last decades there was a severe lack of environmental consciousness here. Due to indiscriminate urbanization, forest land kept shrinking, illegal constructions were done by filling ponds and ground water was exploited ruthlessly. The biggest and worrying proof of this administrative apathy of the previous governments was that in the year 2017, when the Yogi government took charge of the state, only 5 lakh saplings were available in the government nurseries of the entire forest department. This situation was like pushing the future of the coming generations into darkness.
Historical record of 242 crore plants and grand target of 35 crores
Sensing this big environmental crisis, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made it a people’s movement instead of a government program. Under this, participation of every section of the society was decided.
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Journey from 2017 till now: Records in last 9 years in Uttar Pradesh More than 242 crore plants Have been planted.
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Record of World Environment Day: This year, on the occasion of Environment Day, a record 5 crore saplings were planted in one day.
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The main goal of 12th July: Uttar Pradesh government in a single day on 12th July 35 crore plants It is going to create a new global record for planting.
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Preparing for the future: To continue this green revolution, at present more than 57 crore saplings are fully prepared in the nurseries of UP Forest Department.
Emphasis on ‘conservation’ with planting; The geography of UP is changing
Sunil Chaudhary (Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Department, Forest Department, UP) According to, since independence, many Van Mahotsavs were celebrated in the country and the state and paper announcements were made, but all of them remained ineffective because there was no strong system for protecting the plants after planting.
Today the Yogi government is not only planting trees, but is also monitoring them till they become trees through geo-tagging and security system. Experts estimate that out of the 242 crore plants planted, about two-thirds are safe and taking the form of huge trees, which will change the direction of the geography and environment of Uttar Pradesh in the future.
‘A tree in the name of mother’: Environmental consciousness got emotional support
In this mega campaign started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘A tree in the name of mother’ The campaign has worked as a lifesaver. Generally people know that planting trees is good for the environment, but due to carelessness they do not do so. When the Prime Minister of the country linked this campaign to the motherly love of every citizen, it became a social and family responsibility. The immense reverence that Indian society has for the mother has been transformed by this campaign into a means of environmental awareness.
Boon for farmers struggling with changing weather cycles
If we look at the data of the last 25 years, there has been a shift of about one and a half month in the weather cycle of Uttar Pradesh due to global warming and deforestation. Delayed arrival of monsoon, premature end of winter and sudden hailstorms – all these are devastating symptoms of environmental imbalance.
For a small farmer in Uttar Pradesh who has only two bighas of land, this one and a half month weather change ruins his entire livelihood. This large-scale tree plantation and the policy of planting trees on the ridges of fields is the most accurate and accessible solution to this environmental crisis.
Sanatan Gyan: Water and forests should become social values, not government schemes.
Our ancestors had made trees like Peepal, Banyan and Neem religiously sacred and revered because scientifically they are the most oxygen-giving and environment-friendly trees. In ancient times, digging a well or a pond was considered an act of great virtue, so that water management flowed in the veins of the society like a ritual and not dependent on any government scheme.
Today the Uttar Pradesh government is bringing the same ancient sage knowledge to the ground with modern administrative will. Today UP is giving this message to the whole world that the goal of ‘Net Zero’ can be achieved not only in international conferences or on paper, but by planting trees on the ground.