New Delhi marked World Environment Day with a high-impact green initiative, rolling out an ambitious tree plantation campaign and a new fleet of electric buses.
The twin actions reinforce the capital’s commitment to sustainable development and signal a broader national push to integrate ecological balance into urban planning. A symbolic plantation of a Banyan sapling at Bhagwan Mahavir Vanasthali Park set the tone for the launch of the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign. The gesture, deeply rooted in India’s cultural and environmental consciousness, is designed to galvanise citizens across the country into personalising the cause of tree planting and linking it emotionally to their roots. This initiative feeds into the larger Aravalli Green Wall Project, which aims to reforest and stabilise a 700-km stretch of the Aravalli range across four states—Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat. Envisioned as a 5-km-wide ecological buffer, the project is designed not just as a tree-planting effort, but as a climate adaptation strategy that can restore biodiversity, improve soil health, rejuvenate water bodies and strengthen the environmental resilience of one of the country’s most degraded hill systems.
The Aravallis have long suffered due to rampant mining, urban encroachment, and deforestation. Once a thriving green corridor buffering the capital from desertification, the region has now become a flashpoint in India’s environmental crisis. The restoration plan is expected to address this degradation with a blend of community-led afforestation and scientifically guided land regeneration. In a parallel effort to reduce vehicular pollution and promote green mobility, the capital also added 200 new electric buses to its public transport system. These buses will bolster the city’s efforts to transition to cleaner, low-emission transportation and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. As part of the city’s clean transport roadmap, the electric fleet is expected to ease the city’s worsening air quality and contribute to its long-term decarbonisation goals.
These interventions are not just about environmental optics; they are linked closely to job creation and economic recovery, particularly in rural and peri-urban zones surrounding the Aravallis. The project is set to generate employment through nursery development, maintenance, land management, and water conservation projects. Local communities are expected to be major stakeholders in the long-term sustainability of the effort. While the move has been welcomed widely, several environmental experts have underscored that long-term success will hinge on the survival of saplings, not just their numbers. Past tree-planting campaigns have been criticised for poor follow-up and high mortality rates of saplings. Effective implementation, transparency, and citizen involvement will be critical to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Additionally, the shift to electric buses, while significant, will require robust infrastructure—charging stations, battery recycling, and route optimisation—to achieve its full potential. The capital’s grid must evolve in tandem with its electric ambitions to prevent bottlenecks in daily operations. Nonetheless, by linking ecological restoration with urban transport reform, Delhi is making a conscious pivot towards a more climate-resilient future. The message on this World Environment Day is clear: restoring nature and decarbonising cities are not isolated acts—they are interlinked components of a livable, equitable, and future-ready urban India.
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