Gandhinagar: Ghana has launched the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign after drawing inspiration from India, Gujarat’s Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia told the state Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
While responding to a question raised by a legislator, Modhwadia said the tree-planting initiative, which links environmental conservation with the emotional appeal of planting a tree in one’s mother’s name, has been running across India, including Gujarat.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign is being carried out successfully across the country for the proper care and nurturing of trees,” Modhwadia said in the Assembly.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Ghana, he said Modi mentioned the campaign while planting a tree during a visit to a school there.
“Inspired by India, Ghana, which has dense forests, has also launched the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign in its country. This is a matter of pride for all of us,” the minister added.
Providing details on measures taken in Gujarat to promote tree plantation and conservation, Modhwadia said the state government has made financial provisions ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 2,500 under various schemes of the Forest Department to support the nurturing and maintenance of trees.
“This includes installing tree guards, watering and ensuring care for the trees for up to three years,” he said.
The minister added that the state government has also introduced support for the conservation of heritage trees.
“Old heritage trees in the state are identified, and farmers are given compensation of about Rs 5,000 per year for their maintenance,” he said.
Replying to another question in the House, Minister of State for Forest and Environment, Pravin Mali, said: “The Forest Department has been working to increase forest cover outside notified forest areas in both urban and rural regions through a programme called ‘Van Kavach’.”
He said the initiative involves creating dense green spaces using the Miyawaki method.
“Under Van Kavach, dense forests are developed by planting around 10,000 trees of different varieties within one hectare,” Mali said, adding that these spaces are emerging as areas for citizens to walk and as centres for nature education.
Mali also informed the House about the plantation work undertaken in the Rajkot district under the community forest development scheme.
“In the last two years, a total of 6.47 lakh saplings have been planted over 388 hectares at a cost of Rs 1,192 lakh,” he said.
“Out of these, 5.29 lakh saplings are currently alive, which shows the success of the scheme,” the minister added.
(IANS)
