Gandhinagar: Saying that the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign has turned into a mass movement, Union home and cooperation minister on Sunday pledged that the green cover in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency will be increased by 20% by 2029.Speaking at a tree-planting event and launch of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) development projects worth Rs 405 crore, Shah said, “Within a short span of time, the campaign to plant 1.25 crore trees has transformed into a true people’s movement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative has evolved into a mass movement.”He told the audience that central paramilitary forces on Saturday completed planting 7 crore trees over seven years and noted that 43 lakh trees were planted in the Delhi Ridge area two days ago.“These trees are well suited to the local environment. They have a lifespan of at least 100 years, meaning future generations — your grandchildren — will be able to sit in their shade. Banyan and peepul trees provide habitat and sustenance to a wide variety of avian species,” he said.Shah said the campaign aims to create a greener Ahmedabad. He said his constituency, Gandhinagar, previously had 12 oxygen parks. Sixty-one were inaugurated on Sunday, bringing the total to 73 in the state capital. AMC has inaugurated 101 oxygen parks in a day, he added.“Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad cannot become green without people’s participation,” Shah said, adding he was optimistic that combined efforts of authorities and citizens will ensure that Ahmedabad’s temperature reduces by 5%.“If we want to ensure the habitability of Earth for the next four generations, it is crucial to prevent further damage to the ozone layer, and for this, Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative is essential,” he said.Through AMC’s online campaign to plant 5 million trees, 1,37,812 citizens registered to plant five saplings each. The civic body reached out to senior citizens, with 28,544 of them pledging to plant two trees each. Shah noted that the green cover in the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, comprising Sanand, Gandhinagar, Kalol and Ahmedabad, has increased by 11.23%.“It is my personal resolution to increase Gandhinagar’s green cover by 20% by 2029. We must all work together to achieve this increase in greenery across the constituency. As part of this campaign, trees should be planted wherever there is open space in housing societies. This will improve the local environment,” he added.The Union home minister also spoke on the role of solar rooftop installations in lowering temperature, adding that Gandhinagar is the constituency where most work is done in this regard. “The people of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar must spearhead a campaign to ensure that not a single house, flat or roadside eatery remains without a rooftop solar installation,” he said.Shah also inaugurated a heritage-themed public park developed by UNM Foundation on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad. Developed in partnership with AMC, the Rs 10 crore park spans 20,000 sq m between Swami Vivekananda Bridge and Nehru Bridge and is the 12th public park created and maintained by the foundation under its Pratiti urban renewal initiative, the foundation said in a statement.The park features has five permanent installations depicting Ahmedabad’s historical and cultural evolution, including exhibits on the city’s ruling dynasties, the royal axis linking Bhadra Fort, Teen Darwaza and Jama Masjid, the traditional Mata ni Pachhedi folk art, the city’s changing urban centre and the once-popular circus grounds on the Sabarmati riverbed.
