Indore, July 11 : Indore announced as the cleanest city in India, which had made a new Guinness World Record for planting 11 lakh saplings within 24 hours in July 2024, is all set to start 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' 2.0 campaign from Friday.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav will start the mega plantation drive with planting a sapling at a park near cloth market in Keshar Bagh road in the city, Urban Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Thursday.

The Minister told that Indore Municipal Corporation has alloted five acres land for this purpose, and a total 51 lakh saplings will be planted, with participation of people from all walks of life.

On the first day (July 11), a total of 1,100 samplings will be planted.

Veteran BJP leader Vijayvargiya also told that Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, who is scheduled to visit Indore on July 12, will also participate in the plantation drive.

"Like last year, together we had made a world record of planting the most number of saplings in 24 hours, the mega plantation drive is all set to begin from July 11. Citizen of Indore are welcome to contribute in making the city green," Vijayvargiya, who is a BJP MLA from Indore Assembly constituency, said.

Notably, last year, more than 30,000 people, including 40-plus non-resident Indians (NRIs) hailing from Indore, had participated in the world record creating tree plantation drive on the Revati Range hillock located on Indore-Ujjain Road.

Later, several BJP leaders,including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, had also planted a sapling in the drive at the Rewati firing range ground of the Border Security Force (BSF).

Several Bollywood actors and sportpersons from Indore and other parts of Madhya Pradesh, had also participated in the campaign.

Few months ago, Minister Vijayvargiya had shared a video from Rewati Range, claiming that all 12.40 lakh saplings, planted under the campaign 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' at Revati Range in Indore, were alive and growing.

He had told that further steps to ensure the safety of these plants, such as water facility, regular gardening and fencing are being done by the Indore Municipal Corporation.

He had said that with the inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the saplings planted in the city under the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign are now becoming trees.

The city dwellers had created a world record by planting 12.4 lakh saplings in the Revati Range.

Notably, the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign was launched by PM Modi on June 5, 2024.

Under this drive, nearly 140 crore trees were planted across the country, including 55 million in Madhya Pradesh.

/IANS