The Uttar Pradesh government on 9 July launched the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0" plantation campaign, aiming to plant 52 crore saplings across the state this year. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath kicked off the drive in Ayodhya, while Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and other officials led parallel events in multiple districts. State officials said 37 crore saplings—many of them medicinal species—were scheduled to be put in the ground during the day-long exercise, supported by schools, village councils and civic groups. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which is monitoring the effort, has reported that more than 75 percent of the 204–210 crore trees planted in Uttar Pradesh since 2017 have survived. According to government data, the sustained tree-planting programme has expanded the state’s green cover by about 5 lakh acres over the past eight years. Authorities describe the latest campaign as one of India’s largest single-day afforestation initiatives and say it is central to meeting the state’s broader climate-adaptation and biodiversity goals.