Chandigarh launches citywide tree plantation drive with sapling monitoring and sustainability commitment

Chandigarh: Chandigarh launched its citywide tree plantation drive on Saturday to mark Van Mahotsav 2025 , planting over one lakh saplings across 253 pre-identified locations. For the first time, the drive includes a monitoring mechanism, with the UT forest department requiring undertakings from participating agencies, including government departments and private stakeholders, to maintain the planted trees for at least three years.

The initiative was inaugurated by Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria , who personally planted saplings at 23 different locations across the city. Addressing the public, the governor urged citizens to treat the occasion not as a yearly ritual but as a pledge toward the planet's well-being. He emphasised that Van Mahotsav is not merely about planting trees, but about planting hope, balance, and the future itself. He described the event as a green movement that should resonate through every household, school, and institution in Chandigarh.

The governor also commended the administration's past efforts in creating city forests and urban green corridors. He announced that over five lakh saplings are scheduled to be planted across the UT this year. During the event, he also inaugurated three key environmental policy frameworks: the Greening Chandigarh Action Plan, the State Action Plan on Climate Change, and the Chandigarh Tree Map.

Reaffirming the administration's commitment to sustainability, Governor Kataria aligned Chandigarh's vision with the national mission and reiterated the goal of making the city a Net Zero Emission zone by 2030.