West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari launched a week-long afforestation campaign on Tuesday under which 1,1 crore tree saplings would be planted across the state, under the umbrella of a central government initiative ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ (A tree in the name of your mother).
Adhikari inaugurated the massive afforestation campaign Aranya Saptah 2026 (Forest Week 2026) by planting saplings himself, at Central Park in Salt Lake, Kolkata.
The chief minister said that his government’s goal is to maintain a fine balance between development and ecology, and further increase green cover in the state through afforestation. “The forest department must stop illegal saw mills in the state and stop tree trafficking and illegal chopping of trees,” Adhikari said.
Adhikari stressed that more coconut trees should be planted to reduce the risk of lightning strikes. He underlined that school children have also been roped in the afforestation drive and a sapling has been handed over to each of them for them to nurture.
The chief minister acknowledged the shortage of staff in the Forest Department and assured that those vacancies will be filled within this year. He shared that the task of carrying out recruitment in the Forest Department will be handed over to the Police Recruitment Board in future.
In his message to forest workers, the chief minister assured them of their safety and blamed the previous dispensation for not taking effective initiatives in this regard. Adhikari assured that his government will implement all plans for their wellbeing in coordination with the Centre.
The week-long campaign, that is going to be observed from July 14 to July 20, is part of the state government’s year-long afforestation programme aimed at planting and nurturing more than 1 core trees across the state.
The inaugural ceremony had Forest and Environment Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon, Minister of State for Forests and Environment Dibakar Gharami, Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal, Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee in attendance along with the Chief Minister.