New Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday said the city's mega plantation drive, under which 70 lakh trees and saplings, will be planted aims to boost Delhi's green cover through large-scale public participation.

The mega plantation drive was flagged off by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The campaign is intended to become a mass movement, encouraging citizens to plant at least one tree and contribute to making the capital greener and healthier. An online registration portal has also been opened to facilitate public participation in the campaign, speakers at the event said.

Addressing the inaugural event, Gupta said, "The Delhi government has planned to develop 100 oxygen parks, with work already underway on 18 of them. We decided to introduce the concept in Delhi after learning about oxygen parks developed in Gujarat."

Referring to the current budget, Gupta said it was presented as a "Green Budget", with 22 per cent of the total outlay earmarked for environment-related initiatives.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said plantation would be carried out in every Assembly constituency this year as part of one of the biggest plantation drives in the capital.

"All plantation sites have been geo-tagged, and every sapling has been counted. If any sapling is damaged, affected or dies, it is replaced by planting another sapling at the same location," Sirsa said.

"Unlike previous years, residents are also participating in the drive by planting saplings as a tribute to their mothers under the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign," he added, describing it as a "well-planned plantation drive".

Referring to last year's campaign, he said the government had taken the help of religious leaders, educational institutions, Supreme Court judges and High Court judges to undertake plantation across wards of Delhi and successfully planted saplings.

"The government has launched a dedicated portal through which residents can choose a time slot and location for the plantation. Those planning mass or community plantation drives can also seek assistance from the government's Vriksh Rath," Gupta said.

The chief minister added that the government has also extended financial assistance to Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and other institutions to improve parks across the city and involve them in the plantation drive.

She said the plantation is not the government's only strategy to combat pollution and that Delhi is also promoting zero-emission transportation.

Gupta added that Shah also flagged off 300 new electric buses during the programme, taking the total number of electric buses in Delhi's public transport fleet to 4,800.

"The eco-restoration initiative is not limited to the plantation. It is an effort to give nature back its dignity and revive green areas," Gupta said.

She said Delhi would become a city with wide roads, advanced technology and dense forests, adding that making the capital greener was one of her government's priorities.

Gupta said the government had started efforts to increase the city's green cover immediately after assuming office and added that the green cover has now increased to 25 per cent, which the government aims to expand further.

She said the campaign was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) vision.

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The event was attended by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Delhi Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood, MP Bansuri Swaraj and others.