Ahmedabad, July 30 (IANS) After being ranked India’s top cleanest city, Ahmedabad has now crossed a green milestone. As part of the Mission for Million Trees 2025, more than 20.42 lakh trees have been planted across the city so far, achieving 51 per cent of the ambitious target to plant 40 lakh trees this year.

CM Patel personally participated in a large-scale plantation drive held in the Chandlodia area, joined by Cabinet Minister Jagdish Vishwakarma, Ahmedabad Mayor Pratibha Jain, Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani, area MLAs, and senior officials of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). The tree plantation campaign, an initiative under Mission for Million Trees 2025 (FMT), reflects AMC’s dual vision: to uphold Ahmedabad’s reputation as a clean city and elevate it into a green city.

The mission is part of broader environmental planning to tackle urban pollution, enhance biodiversity, and improve the city’s livability index. In a citizen-friendly move, AMC has also launched a special service through the AMC Seva mobile app. Registered citizens can request free saplings, and a municipal team will visit their homes to carry out the plantation at no cost.

As per the FSI 2023 report, Gujarat now has a tree cover covering 6,632 sq km, which is 3.38 per cent of its geographical area — a modest recovery from 2.8 per cent in 2021. When combined with forest areas covering 15,016 sq km (7.65 per cent), the state’s total green cover stands at 11.03 per cent, up from approximately 10.41 per cent in 2021.

Most notably, tree cover outside the officially notified forest areas grew by 241.29 sq km, the highest such increase among Indian states, reflecting Gujarat’s emphasis on social forestry and plantations across rural and peri‑urban zones. However, Gujarat has faced a significant long-term decline — from about 8,034 sq km of tree cover in 2015-16 to 6,632 sq km in 2021‑22, representing a 20.6 per cent loss over seven years. This decline was triggered largely by the diversion of forest land for industrial and infrastructure projects.

Despite urban afforestation efforts, major cities like Ahmedabad have seen increased green cover numerically, but still lag behind national benchmarks. In 2023, Ahmedabad’s green space was approximately 14.89 sq km, which is 3.27 per cent of the city’s area — the second lowest among Indian megacities studied. On the urban front, Gandhinagar stands out, with an impressive 54 per cent green cover and a high tree density – over 152 trees per hectare in municipal areas.

–IANS

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