Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah today started the plantation drive of planting 11 lakh trees in a single day under the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign by planting saplings at the BSF campus in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Several dignitaries, including the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Mohan Yadav, and Union Minister Smt Savitri Thakur were present on the occasion. Under the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign, Indore today achieved the target of planting 51 lakh trees, setting a world record of planting 11 lakh saplings in a single day.

Earlier in the morning, Shri Amit Shah went to Pitreshwar Hanuman Temple of Indore to offer prayers. Pitreshwar Hanuman Temple has the tallest sitting Hanuman Statue in India.

In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that it was the visionary idea of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi who called upon the people to plant trees for the sake of our mothers and our mother earth and join the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign. He said that when Modi ji started this campaign, no one had any idea that this campaign would become a people’s movement. He said that today the people are paying respect to their Mother and Mother Earth by planting saplings, associated with the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign. Shri Shah said that Indore is known for cleanliness, delicious cuisines, good governance, cooperation and participation, but henceforth Indore will also be known by all for the historic tree plantation drive under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign. He said that Indore which is known as a smart city, metro city, clean city, hub of modern education, will also be known as a Green City.

Union Home Minister said that this is not just a government’s programme as administration can only facilitate but not make a campaign successful. He said that the state government has associated all residents of Indore with this campaign. He lauded the young mayor of Indore who came up with the idea of creating forests in the name of their great men by associating every caste and society with this program. Shri Shah said that along with long-lived trees like Banyan, Neem, Peepal trees with medicinal properties like Guava, Madhukamini, Karonda, Belpatra and Amla have also been planted. He said that in this complex, where nine forests will be built, arrangements have also been made to irrigate them by creating three ponds.

Shri Amit Shah praised all the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) of the country and said that we had set a target that by May 2024, all the CAPFs together will plant 5 Crore trees. He said that the CAPFs achieved this target much in advance in 2023. Shri Shah said that so far, all CAPFs have planted 5.2 Crore saplings and by the end of this year, another 1 crore saplings are going to be planted. Speaking of the importance of the tree, Shri Shah said that it is written in the Matsya Purana that a stepwell is equal to 10 wells, a pond is equal to 10 stepwells, a son is equal to 10 ponds and a tree is equal to 10 sons. He said that the plants should be taken care of like a child until they grow up, later on when they grow up, they will take care of you like your mother.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said that we need to look forward for our future generations. He said that the way the world is developing, today there is an atmosphere of concern for environmental protection not only in India but all over the world. He said that the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign launched by Prime Minister Modi is the perfect answer to the problem of climate change. Shri Shah said that Madhya Pradesh has a forest cover of 31% of its total area and it serves to provide oxygen to the whole of India. He said that Madhya Pradesh has 12% of the total forest cover of the entire country and this has also led to a boost in tourism. He said that Madhya Pradesh has 6 Tiger Reserves, 11 National Parks, 24 Sanctuaries and Prime Minister Modi has now also brought cheetahs to Kuno Tiger Reserve which will benefit our environment. Shri Shah said that Prime Minister Modi took several initiatives at the G-20 like One Earth, One Family, One Future and Global Biofuel Alliance, due to which the United Nations honored Modi Ji with the award of Champion of Earth.

Shri Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, many national level initiatives have been taken to protect the environment. He said that 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol and diesel has been permitted and by 2025, there will be 20 per cent blending in petrol and diesel across India. Along with this, more than 12 refineries have been set up to make biomass into biofuel, a program of 20 thousand crore rupees has been prepared under the Green Hydrogen Mission. Along with this, Shri Narendra Modi has also launched the Govardhan Scheme and the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change to protect the environment with foresight.

The Union Home Minister said that Shri Narendra Modi has become the Prime Minister of the country for the third time and we all know that under his leadership, the country will be safe, prosperous, modern and first in every field in world. He said a huge credit also goes to Madhya Pradesh. Shri Shah said that Shri Mohan Yadav Ji's government in Madhya Pradesh has initiated many developmental programmes in the state. He said that Chief Minister Shri Mohan Yadav ji has recently presented a budget of 3 lakh 65 thousand crore rupees, which is the biggest budget of Madhya Pradesh so far. He said that the Madhya Pradesh budget is likely to bring a balance between development and farmers welfare.

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