Chouhan unveils green roadmap for nationwide environmental campaign

Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday unveiled an ambitious roadmap to transform environmental protection into a mass movement through the ‘Vriksh Mitra Abhiyan’, urging citizens to make tree plantation a regular social responsibility.

Addressing the ‘Environment Protection Resolve Programme and Vriksh Mitra Samvad’ at the Pusa Complex here, Chouhan interacted with nearly 17,000 ‘Vriksh Mitra’ volunteers from across the country. Environmentalist and Padma Bhushan awardee Anil Joshi, social worker Dr Anoop Hazela, ICAR Director General M.L. Jat, and hundreds of volunteers attended the event in person, while thousands more joined virtually.

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Describing environmental protection as a collective responsibility, Chouhan said the initiative would create a nationwide network of citizens committed to conserving nature.

“One tree every year, five new companions” would be the guiding principle of the campaign, he said, urging every ‘Vriksh Mitra’ to plant at least one tree annually and inspire five more people to join the movement.

“Everyone lives for themselves, but a truly meaningful life is one that gives life to others. A tree is the greatest medium of giving life,” Chouhan said, noting that trees provide oxygen, regulate temperatures, support biodiversity and safeguard the future of coming generations.

He said the environmental crisis was no longer confined to ecological concerns but had become a challenge to human survival. “Rising sea levels, increasing temperatures, polluted air, deteriorating water quality and rapidly declining biodiversity pose direct threats to future generations,” he said.

The minister announced that the ‘Vriksh Mitra Parivar’ would be given a structured national framework with committees at the national, state, district, block and village levels. The network would coordinate plantation drives, monitor the survival of saplings and ensure sustained public participation.

He also proposed that every family should associate tree plantation with important occasions such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries, the birth of children and the remembrance of loved ones. Over time, he said, these occasions should evolve into “Tree Festivals” across the country.

Highlighting the importance of India’s cultural traditions, Chouhan announced a nationwide plantation drive on Hariyali Amavasya on August 12, saying the occasion would be developed into a national “Tree Festival”.

Linking environmental conservation with agriculture, Chouhan said the future of farmers depended on the protection of water and soil resources. He called for balanced farming practices and scientific approaches to conserve soil fertility and ensure sustainable agricultural production.