Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated development projects worth ₹1,003 crore in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and urged citizens to participate in a nationwide tree plantation campaign aimed at environmental protection.
Speaking at the event, Shah emphasised the critical role of trees in safeguarding the environment and the ozone layer. He noted that the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has committed to planting 3 million trees in 100 days, a campaign with which he is personally involved.
"This is a beautiful campaign, and it is a big thing that a municipal corporation will plant 30 lakh trees. But I would like to ask the citizens of Ahmedabad as to what will be your contribution?" Shah said.
Shah encouraged residents of Ahmedabad to plant trees in their residential areas, nearby wastelands, and their children's schools, suggesting they plant as many trees as the number of their family members.
"Every citizen should make it the aim of their life to take steps to increase oxygen in the environment more than the carbon dioxide that we create through the use of vehicles, air conditioners, and electricity," he said.
Shah highlighted the environmental impact of development projects, noting that countless trees have been cut down for infrastructure such as roads, power stations, and bridges, contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer.
"This has posed a big threat to the earth and human existence," he added.
The Home Minister also referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for citizens to dedicate a tree in the name of their mother, framing it as a way to repay the "debt we owe to our mothers."
"I would like to heartily appeal to every citizen of Ahmedabad to understand their responsibility and plant one tree each and take care of it like a child," Shah said.
He noted that Ahmedabad is not alone in this effort, as many other cities have pledged to plant large numbers of trees. He highlighted that PM Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' initiative has become a mass movement and urged Ahmedabad's citizens to join.
Shah also announced that Ahmedabad would be developed as a "future city" within the next two years, free from slums and pollution, with every home equipped with a toilet and health card.
During the event, Shah inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 45 projects in Ahmedabad, including two oxygen plants, waste collection vans, sewage treatment plants, a gymnasium and swimming pool, urban health centres, a yoga-cum-meditation centre, smart schools, and aanganwadis (women and child care centres).
Follow us
