'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam'
A Campaign for the Mother Nature
Ek Ped Ma ke Naam is an environmental campaign launched by the government of india on 5th June 2024. The English translation implies, ‘One tree in the name of your mother.’ The programme entails people to plant a sapling anywhere within their vicinity – balcony, park or community spaces. The aim is to encourage ordinary people to undertake the responsibility of caring for its environment. The programme takes the initiative a stretch further. It asks the undertakers to click a photo of their planting alongwith their mother or the sapling and upload it on designated government portals like My Bharat Portal. One can also download the app ‘Ek Ped Maa ke Naam’ via Google Play or Apple App Store and download a certificate of their initiative.
This programme has two unique characteristics:
It has symbolic value that connects the tree with the mother (Mother Nature or Mother Earth) who is considered to be the giver and nurturer. The role of the nature and the mother dovetails into a unified whole where the nature symbolizes a mother. By planting trees one respects that mother who is the symbol of sacrifice and love. By tapping the emotional aspect of human feelings, this initiative has the ability to showcase to the world the cultural ecosystem of Indian society while demonstrating the immense responsibility of caring for the environment.
The other noticeable characteristic of this initiative is to encourage and make active involvement of grassroot people. It brings down macro policy approach to a micro level enabling the participation of more people. This kind of schemes not only contributes towards creating awareness regarding environment and climate change at a very basic level but also allows people to relate to the task in which they participate. It increasingly reduces the gap between the government and the people creating a two way channel of communication from which both can learn and unlearn. The digitial initiative also plays a crucial role where the certificates transforms into a tangible reward for a selfless effort.
The campaign has entered its third year in 2026. This year the school children were involved through Eco Clubs for Mission LiFE Portal. Schools can participate and upload their respective endeavours and get recognised for their efforts. A brilliant campaign wihich witnesses the involvement of the younger generation taking up responsibility for their future wellbeing. Although government schools are obliged to follow the ministry regulation and encourage active participation, there stil remains adequate doubt regarding the participation of private educational institutions.
This campaign is one of those rare initiatives which involves multiple stakeholders, simplifies the language of policy communication and democratices public participation. Any green initiative requires these basic characteristics to make it for relatable to the common man. The more the participation, the wider the awareness and better the endevaours to fight the global challenge.
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