Van Mahotsav – A grand celebration of trees    

A drive around in the rain and one will see the trees of Delhi celebrating the monsoon. The green cover of Delhi has never looked so good before. But this has come with a lot of effort by groups of dedicated children, teachers, the environmentalists, CLEAN-India  and the Delhi Government.

Vanmahotsav, a grand celebration of trees and a massive annual drive for planting trees will see over 24,000 trees being planted in the Central Ridge this season.

This year,   the festival of trees was marked  by  a two day celebrations organised by CLEAN-India and Department of Environment and Forests, Government of NCT, Delhi on 29^th July and 1^st August 2006.

On the first day, the students presented an exhibition on the trees in their neighbourhood and in their schools. The exhibition provided a platform for the students to share their findings and learnings through herbaria , posters, photographs, poems, paintings etc. The days event concluded with an  interactive session with experts and prize distribution for the best exhibits

Large scale plantation was launched on 1^st August 2006 at Rabindra Rang Shala, Central Ridge. Hundreds of School children were joined by the Hon’ble Chief Minister Smt. Sheila Dikshit and the Minister for Environment and Forests, Shri. Raj Kumar Chauhan in planting over a thousand trees native to Delhi.

The highlight of the event was the creation of a native tree corner wherein around 30 native species were planted. Led by the Hon’ble Chief Minister, the children took the pledge to plant and nurture trees that are native to Delhi Ridge.

This monsoon,  school children will  plant 12000 native trees such as Amla, Imli, Arjun, Barghad, Peepal, Neem, Philkhan, Basendu and many more, that adapt easily to the Delhi region and have a high survival rate while supporting the birds, insects, and animals of the ecosystem.

Our Pledge

This Van Mahotsav Day, August 1, 2006

                                              I pledge allegiance

To the earth and all life it supports
 The forests and

The species, their habitats

The air, water and the soil

I promise to

Plant and nurture trees native to my city

As a citizen of Delhi

I realize my duty

To ensure their survival and 

Pledge not to indulge in any action or activity

That will harm the greens and

Strive to keep my Delhi clean, Green and beautiful.