Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta participated in a mass tree-plantation drive on Monday in the Model Town Assembly constituency.
The initiative is part of a larger effort to combat urban heat and pollution by significantly expanding the city's green cover. By integrating community participation with government targets, the city aims to create a sustainable environmental buffer against rising temperatures.
Gupta joined the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign to help meet the Delhi government’s goal of planting 70 lakh, or seven million, saplings [1]. The drive focuses on mobilizing citizens to plant trees in honor of their mothers, linking environmental stewardship with personal and familial sentiment.
"In Delhi, tree plantation programs are continuously underway as part of the mass plantation drive," Gupta said. "The Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, launched this mass plantation drive on July 7" [2].
The event in Model Town serves as a localized push for a broader city-wide mandate. Officials are coordinating the distribution of saplings and identifying optimal planting sites to ensure the survival rate of the new greenery.
The campaign follows a timeline established by national leadership. According to Gupta, the broader initiative was officially set in motion by Home Minister Amit Shah on July 7, 2026 [2]. The Delhi government is now scaling these efforts to reach the multi-million sapling target [1].
Local residents in the Model Town area joined the Chief Minister to plant various native species. The government intends to monitor these sites to ensure the saplings are maintained during the critical early growth phases.
“The Delhi government’s goal is planting 70 lakh, or seven million, saplings.”
This initiative represents a strategic attempt by the Delhi government to address severe air quality issues and the urban heat island effect. By setting a concrete target of seven million saplings, the administration is shifting from sporadic planting to a systemic green-cover expansion. The success of the program depends not on the initial planting, but on the long-term survival of the saplings in a high-pollution urban environment.
