
Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced Thursday that agencies in the capital have planted 50 lakh saplings so far, against a target of 70 lakh, under the 'Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam' campaign. The portal for the drive has seen 1.8 lakh registrations, with about 1.5 lakh citizens participating and planting around 3.4 lakh trees.

The minister said 13 vriksh raths have taken the campaign to neighbourhoods, connecting over 58,000 people. More than six lakh saplings have been distributed free through institutions including the CRPF, BSF, and schools. Trees are being geo-tagged, and a QR-code system is being developed for citizens to track the growth of trees they planted.
Delhi's annual plantation targets have often fallen short due to poor survival rates of saplings in the harsh summer heat and lack of post-planting care. The geo-tagging and QR-code tracking announced here aim to fix that accountability gap. The total target of 70 lakh saplings, if achieved, would be one of the largest single-city drives in India. The next check will be the survival audit, typically done after the monsoon season, which will determine the real impact of this campaign.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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