Gandhinagar, Sep 16 (IANS) Marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 75th birthday and World Ozone Day, the Gujarat government felicitated 19 individuals and environmentally-friendly organisations with the Climate Change Awards 2025-26 in Gandhinagar on Tuesday.

The awards, given across seven categories, recognised contributions in tree plantation, renewable energy, waste management, water conservation, sustainable research, and community-led green initiatives.

State Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Mulubhai Bera, who conferred the awards, said that Gujarat has been building a “green shield” to combat the global challenge of climate change by promoting people’s participation in large-scale tree plantation drives.

He noted that under the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0” campaign, inspired by the Prime Minister, the state has planted more than 7.5 crore trees, a record that underlines Gujarat’s commitment to sustainability.

The award ceremony also saw the felicitation of 56 other organisations and activists, recognised by Sadbhavana Trust, for their dedicated service to environmental protection and tree conservation.

The top three awardees received cash prizes of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000, and Rs 50,000 respectively.

Minister Bera praised the winners for their dedication, reminding the people that it was PM Modi, as Gujarat’s Chief Minister in 2009, who established Asia’s first dedicated Climate Change Department in the state.

He said the initiative has since become a model for addressing global environmental challenges such as cyclones, floods, landslides, and earthquakes, which are increasingly linked to climate change.

The Minister also highlighted Gujarat’s green corridor project, in which more than 20,000 trees have been planted along the Somnath-Dwarka highway as a pilot initiative, with plans to extend the campaign to more than 600 highways across the state.

He cited another milestone in Morbi, where Sadbhavana Trust created a Miyawaki forest of 10 lakh trees on 1,200 hectares in just 37 days — a record set to be inaugurated on Wednesday by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

The state has allocated Rs 100 crore to install solar panels on all government offices, signalling Gujarat’s push to achieve its 2030 target of sourcing 50 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy.

“This green shield movement has now become a true people’s campaign,” Minister Bera said, urging citizens to reduce single-use plastics and support sustainable practices.

Among this year’s winners were Gandhinagar-Palaj Primary School (educational institution category), Shree Ramkrishna Exports Private Limited (industrial unit category), and Dr. Upendra Patel (individual category).

In research, Shah Manan Rajiv received first prize, while Gujarat Environment Management Institute (GEMI) won under public awareness.

Start-up Eshitwa Robotics Systems Private Limited was recognised for eco-innovation, and Falguni Joshi won in the women entrepreneurs category.

Sadbhavana Trust President Vijay Dobariya said thousands of citizens are contributing crores of rupees to tree plantation campaigns across Gujarat, and pledged that by 2030, the state would plant 15 crore trees to leave behind a greener legacy for future generations.

Since its launch in 2021-22, the Climate Change Awards have become an annual recognition of citizens and institutions driving positive climate action in Gujarat.

This year, the department received 25 applications, of which 19 were selected for awards.

Senior officials from the Forest and Climate Change Department, Gujarat Energy Development Agency, and various NGOs attended the ceremony in large numbers.

–IANS

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