CM Rekha Gupta kickstarts capital’s 2025 Van Mahotsav celebrations

Embracing India’s tradition of celebrating tree plantation in early monsoon months, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday kickstarted this year’s Van Mahotsav celebrations by planting a sapling in the city’s ridge area.

Joined by Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, PWD Minister Pravesh Sahib Singh, and New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj, Gupta urged residents to take part by planting trees in their homes, schools, and community spaces—and to dedicate them to their mothers as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign.

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Gupta said this year’s Van Mahotsav marks the beginning of a new chapter in Delhi’s green history. She also took aim at previous governments, accusing them of neglecting environmental causes. “Past governments neither participated in nor paid attention to meaningful initiatives like the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0’ campaign,” she said.

According to a press statement, this year’s Van Mahotsav, organised by the Delhi government, is rooted in public participation. Emphasising the air-purifying role of trees, which she called “living guardians of future generations,” Gupta said the city aims to plant more than seven million saplings this year to expand its green cover.

She urged Delhiites to join the movement and treat it as a shared civic duty. “Delhi’s environment is not just the government’s duty but a shared responsibility of every citizen. If each individual plants at least one tree annually and commits to its care, Delhi can once again move toward becoming a greener and cleaner city in the near future,” she added.

The history of Van Mahotsav, a pan-India tree planting festival celebrated in July every year, traces back to the year 1947. Back then, MS Randhawa, a Punjabi botanist, organised a tree plantation week from 20 to 27 July, which was inaugurated by Khurshid Ahmad Khan, then Delhi Police Commissioner. The main objective of this initiative was to highlight the impact of deforestation in the country, which was nationally recognised in 1950 by Dr K M Munshi, who was the Union Minister for Agriculture and Food during that period.