Meeting Held to Prepare for Tree Plantation Under ‘Hariyalo Rajasthan’; Target Set to Plant 100 Million Saplings This Year

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam”, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has launched the ‘Hariyalo Rajasthan’ initiative, aimed at making Rajasthan greener, cleaner, and more climate-resilient. As part of this campaign, the state has set an ambitious target of planting 10 crore (100 million) saplings during the current financial year.

Chairing a review meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday to assess preparations for this year’s plantation drive, Aparna Arora, Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest, Environment, and Climate Change Department, directed all concerned departments to complete all necessary preparations before the monsoon season, ensuring the plantation drive is carried out in a timely and successful manner. She emphasized that the campaign should not be treated merely as a numbers target but must ensure every sapling is protected until it matures into a tree.

Geo-Tagging for Monitoring and Accountability

Arora highlighted that each sapling planted under the campaign would be geo-tagged using the Hariyalo Rajasthan mobile application, ensuring real-time monitoring and security. She also instructed department nodal officers to undergo timely training for using the app.

Emphasis on Innovation, Technology, and Public Participation

She stressed the need to turn the initiative into a mass movement by leveraging innovation, modern technology, and community involvement. Priority areas for plantation include riverbanks, industrial zones near wastewater outlets, schools, hospitals, and urban areas.

Region-Specific Plantation and Nursery Readiness

Arora also instructed that plant species should be selected based on local soil and climate compatibility, to ensure better survival rates. Nurseries should be prepared in advance to meet the campaign’s sapling requirements.

The meeting emphasized the involvement of social organizations, educational institutions, and NGOs, to ensure that Hariyalo Rajasthan is not just a government program but a people’s movement.

Nodal officers from various departments—including Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Urban Development, Agriculture and Horticulture, Education, PWD, Health, Revenue, Mining, Police, Army, Industry, Forest, NHAI, Watershed Development, and Soil Conservation—were present at the meeting.