Mission 5 Million Trees: AMC calls upon citizens, corporates to join mega plantation drive

Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has launched an ambitious plan to plant five million trees across the city during the monsoon of 2026 under its “Mission Five Million Trees” campaign, while also seeking support from private companies and organisations to fund the plantation of two million saplings.To kickstart the initiative, the AMC’s garden department organised a stakeholders meet at the Sabarmati Riverfront under the chairmanship of Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani. Representatives from NGOs, CSR agencies, private companies, educational institutions and PPP partners attended the meeting to discuss collaboration for the large-scale plantation drive and environmental awareness activities.Officials said the civic body aims to improve Ahmedabad’s green cover through a 100-day plantation campaign during current fiscal. The initiative follows the completion of the “Mission 4 Million Trees” campaign undertaken in 2025.During the meeting, AMC appealed to participating organisations to help identify plantation sites, conduct awareness campaigns on the benefits of tree plantation, and encourage participation from schools, colleges and residential communities. The civic body also proposed organising workshops on tree care and environmental conservation, besides recruiting volunteers for plantation and maintenance activities.To increase public engagement, AMC plans to launch a dedicated theme song for the campaign and install selfie points themed around “5 Million Trees” at prominent locations across the city.However, the new campaign comes amid controversy surrounding last year’s plantation drive. Under the “Mission 4 Million Trees” initiative, contractors were initially assigned the task of planting and maintaining 20 lakh trees at an estimated cost of Rs 64 crore. Civic records show that 29 lakh trees were eventually planted, pushing the expenditure to Rs 131 crore — an increase of Rs 67 crore that triggered criticism and scrutiny over the project’s execution and costs.