Uttar Pradesh to Plant 2 Crore Trees Along Roadsides Under 'Mission Chhaya', 5.5 Lakh Saplings on Ganga Expressway
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Lucknow- To tackle rising heatwaves and declining green cover along highways, the Uttar Pradesh government has launched a massive plantation drive. On the instructions of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath, over 2 crore saplings will be planted along roads across the state under ‘Paudharopan Mahayagya-2026’ and ‘Mission Chhaya’.
Scale and Locations
The Forest Department will act as the nodal agency, with active participation from Public Works, Housing & Development, Urban Development, Rural Development, and Panchayati Raj departments.
As per the plan, saplings will be planted across 2,336 sites covering 11,325 hectares. The drive will cover all expressways, PWD roads, village panchayat roads, and roads under Housing Development and Urban Development authorities.
A major focus is the 594-km-long Ganga Expressway. The Forest Department will plant 5.5 lakh saplings over 500 hectares along both sides of the expressway. Harishankari saplings — a combination of Peepal, Banyan, and Pakad trees — will be planted at every 1-km interval on both shoulders. Other species to be planted in between include Peepal, Pakad, Banyan, Neem, Gular, Mahua, Mango, Arjun, Chilbil, Amaltas, Kachnar, Jakarkanda, and Gulmohar.
To ensure survival, the trees will be protected with wire fencing and irrigated using drip irrigation systems.
Species Prioritized
Under ‘Mission Chhaya’, both shade-bearing and fruit-bearing trees will be planted. The priority species are Peepal, Banyan, Pakad, Gular, Neem, Sheesham, Jamun, Mahua, Mango, Mahogany, Arjun, Chilbil, Gulmohar, Jakarkanda, Kachnar, and Amaltas. The goal is not just environmental conservation, but also to provide shade to commuters during extreme summer heat.
Specific stretches have been marked for intensive plantation by respective forest divisions:
- Delhi-Lucknow Route- Sitapur Forest Division
- Ganga Expressway - Hapur, Bulandshahr, Shahjahanpur, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, and Meerut Forest Divisions
- Purvanchal Expressway - Mau Forest Division
- Gorakhpur Link Expressway - Ambedkar Nagar and Gorakhpur Forest Divisions
- Noida-Greater Noida Expressway - Gautam Buddha Nagar Forest Division
- Greenfield Expressway- Ghazipur Forest Division, right shoulder from Shekhpur to Sathipur
Inter-Departmental Collaboration
Multiple departments have been assigned specific responsibilities:
- Rural Development: Plantation along village council and rural roads
- Panchayati Raj: Plantation on panchayat roads
- Urban Development: Road shoulders in urban areas
- Public Works Department: Plantation with tree guards along national highways, district roads, panchayat roads, approach roads, and rural roads
Officials said that along with plantation, special emphasis will be placed on post-plantation care and survival rates to ensure the ‘Mahayagya’ translates into actual green cover, not just numbers on paper.
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