25 Crore Trees to Be Planted in Five Years: 3.57 Crore Saplings Planted So Far

The progress was presented at the fifth meeting of the Tree Plantation Cell held on Wednesday (October 7) at the conference room of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Nazrul Islam Khan, Political Adviser to the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Tree Plantation Cell, presided over the meeting.

The meeting was informed that against a target of approximately 5.15 crore saplings for the current year, the programme has achieved 69.36 percent of its target so far. According to data submitted in the prescribed format, around 3.04 crore saplings were planted through 11 government departments, while another 52.93 lakh saplings were planted through other organisations.

In his speech, Nazrul Islam Khan said tree plantation is not merely a programme but a social movement. He stressed the need to increase public participation to ensure its success. He also warned that no irregularities in tree plantation activities would be tolerated.

Environment Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo said some saplings may die due to natural causes and that this should be taken into consideration when preparing plans for the next four years. He instructed authorities to strengthen nursery capacity and formulate plantation plans based on the suitability of specific trees to localities and districts, as well as their economic value.

State Minister for Environment Sheikh Faridul Islam said the survival rate of saplings would improve if plantation activities were planned considering weather conditions and local topography. As part of this approach, an initiative has been taken to plant 2 crore keora saplings in coastal areas during December and January.

The meeting placed emphasis on post-plantation care, monitoring sapling survival rates and replanting where necessary. It was also decided to develop a coordinated database by collecting tree plantation information from government and private organisations, educational institutions and development agencies under a common reporting framework.

The meeting also reviewed progress of the “One Tree, One Child” initiative aimed at involving students in tree plantation activities. In addition, discussions were held on the development of a Tree Monitoring App, a central database and a dashboard for maintaining plantation records and monitoring activities at the field level.