Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who planted a Kalpavriksha at Vidur Kuti in Bijnor to launch the campaign, described the occasion as “Tree Plantation Festival in New Uttar Pradesh of New India” and said that Uttar Pradesh has expressed its gratitude to nature by planting more than 30 crore saplings (30,21,51,570) in a single day. Last year, 25 crore saplings were planted on the first day of the campaign. Later, the CM also planted a Peepal tree at Shukrtal in Muzaffarnagar. The CM also dedicated the new logo of the Forest Department and launched a book titled “Forest Based Recipes”.
6 year record boon for flora and fauna of the state
In six years – from 2017-18 to 2022-23 – Yogi government’s sequential tree plantation drive has resulted in a record 136.9 crore saplings being planted. Of these, the Forest Department planted 49.9 crore saplings, while other departments planted 82 crore saplings.
According to the ‘State of the Forest’ report by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), UP has recorded an increase of 417 sq km (0.18%) in forest area and an increase of 377 sq km (0.16%) in tree cover. The green cover of the state has increased by 794 sq km, which is now 9.23% of the state’s geographical area.
Extensive tree plantation carried out in the state in the last six years has also increased the number of wildlife. In the last five years, the number of tigers has increased from 118 to 173 and the number of elephants has increased from 265 to 352.
The count of the state bird stork has also increased from 13,670 to 17,586 in the last five years. On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, more and more trees of timber yielding and industrial use species are being planted in the state. To maintain the balance in the environment, trees of different species are being planted in the state.