Chief Minister Oommen Chandy hands over a sapling to a girl in Thiruvananthapuram yesterday.

By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram


Kerala will plant 10mn saplings in one hour to mark the World Environment Day today as it seeks to embark on a massive mission to increase the green cover.
In March, Madhya Pradesh made a Guinness World Records entry by planting 5.5mn trees in one day, beating the 2009 record of Rajasthan when a team of 3,000 people planted 611,137 trees in Dungarpur district in a day.
Governor Sheila Dikshit will inaugurate the programme here while students, teachers and government officials will take a pledge to protect the environment at 10.15am across the state and plant saplings within an hour.
Officials at the state’s forest and environment ministry also aim to set a record of sorts by planting a million saplings in an hour with the help of government departments and district administrations.
Each of the 14 districts is given 750,000 saplings. Farmers, women’s self-help groups and non-government organisations are also supporting the mission - “one human, one tree” aimed at “transferring the environment to the next generation without any degradation.” The trees will be named after those who plant and conserve the saplings.
“Ensuring people’s participation is the most practical way for protection of environment,” Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who will launch the project in Kannur, said. “Students should be given awareness on the importance of environment protection so that it is preserved for future generations.”
A technical committee has been set up to monitor the scheme and a policy will be formed based on their recommendations under the ‘Harithasree’ project of Participatory Environment Action Programme.
Harithasree co-operatives, made up of members of Kudumbashree, biodiversity clubs, resident associations and NGOs will be constituted to nurture the saplings that are planted today.