New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) As part of ‘Van Mahotsav 2025’ celebrations, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday planted a sapling and accused the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of ignoring the city’s environment and refraining from launching a plantation drive under the ‘Ek ped maa ke naam’ campaign.

After planting a sapling at Delhi Ridge, CM Gupta claimed, “The previous governments never took part in plantation drives as they never cared for Delhi’s air pollution.”

“Through Van Mahotsav 2025, the Delhi government is writing a new chapter in the city’s fight against pollution.”

“Every citizen should take part in the Mahotsav and join the Bhagidari,” she said, as Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and others joined her at the venue.

The formal inaugural ceremony of the Van Mahotsav was at Bharat Mandapam with dignitaries, environmentalists, industrialists, students and other participants.

An exhibition was also inaugurated for the public and it will remain open from July 3 till July 4.

Speaking at the event, CM Gupta said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is transformative. A public figure or politician’s vision makes him or her great. In this Mahotsav, the core aim is to save the Earth and reflects patriotism as it is focussed on protecting our mother Earth.”

She also hailed PM Modi’s efforts to rid the country of the colonial mindset and give new criminal laws.

Sirsa described the Van Mahotsav as a milestone in Delhi’s fight against pollution. “When Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Ek ped maa ke naam’ campaign, the then Delhi CM had refused to join it and plant trees under it,” he said.

He earlier explained that the month-long Van Mahotsav 2025 aims to expand Delhi’s green cover and deepen citizens’ emotional connection with nature.

“We have pledged to plant more than 70 lakh trees across Delhi, and this Van Mahotsav marks a decisive step toward that promise — not just in numbers, but in nurturing a green conscience,” he said.

At the ceremony, he renewed the Delhi government’s resolve to protect the city’s flora and fauna, adding, “Delhi forests have leopards and Blue Bulls and many other species. Some city residents travel up to 400 km to catch a glimpse of some of the animals which are present here itself.”

Van Mahotsav will have a massive ‘Van Mela’ with exotic, ornamental and medicinal plants and also free distribution of saplings, the Minister said.

“Van Mahotsav is not just a plantation drive — it’s a people’s festival of green resolve, a tribute to nature, and a deeply emotional journey. We are transforming it into a mass movement in Delhi — involving every citizen, leader, and community — because combating pollution requires collective climate consciousness,” said Sirsa.

He said the Mahotsav will involve daily tree plantations between July 1–31. “Each day of July will witness mass participation of Delhiites — planting a tree in the name of their mother, echoing the deeply personal spirit of the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign,” he said.

South Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj and Public Works Department Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh were also among those who attended the inauguration ceremony.

–IANS

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