Amit Shah congratulates Gandhinagar on setting Guinness World Record by planting over 3.61 lakh saplings in one hour

Union Home Minister on Sunday congratulated the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), more than 25,000 volunteers and the people of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency after they created a Guinness World Record by planting more than 3.61 lakh saplings in a single hour using the Miyawaki afforestation method.

The record was achieved as part of a large-scale public plantation campaign undertaken across the Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency under the nationwide ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative.

Congratulating all those involved, HM Shah said the achievement reflected exemplary public participation, meticulous planning and a collective commitment towards environmental conservation.

He said the campaign, launched under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has transformed environmental protection into a people’s movement by encouraging citizens across the country to actively participate in tree plantation drives.

HM Shah said the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency has further strengthened the campaign by achieving a historic milestone in the field of environmental conservation.

The plantation drive saw citizens plant more than 1.26 crore saplings across the constituency. Of these, over 1.15 crore saplings were planted at 404 public sites, while more than 11 lakh saplings were planted on private premises by residents.

Among the Assembly segments, the Sanand constituency accounted for the highest number of plantations, with 53.64 lakh saplings planted across 186 locations. Gandhinagar North recorded 18.09 lakh saplings at 97 sites, Kalol city planted 16.64 lakh saplings across 77 locations, Vejalpur town registered 17.54 lakh saplings at 10 locations, Ghatlodia constituency accounted for 8.32 lakh saplings at 18 sites, while Sabarmati district recorded 82,314 saplings at six locations.

HM Shah described the campaign as a model of environmental conservation driven by public participation and said it reflected PM Modi’s vision of achieving sustainable development through “Progress with Nature.”

He noted that the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency has undertaken several environment-focused initiatives, including the development of oxygen parks, large-scale afforestation drives, restoration of ponds and public awareness campaigns, making it a model for green development and environmental protection.

The Home Minister, however, stressed that tree plantation does not end with planting saplings and called upon citizens to ensure their proper care and maintenance.

He urged people across the country to participate in the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign by planting more trees and taking responsibility for nurturing them, expressing confidence that such people-led initiatives would contribute significantly to building a developed India while ensuring a cleaner, greener and ecologically balanced future for coming generations.