GUWAHATI — Marking the 77th Van Mahotsav Week, Assam Forest Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah has unveiled a comprehensive “Green Vision” roadmap for the state. Launched from the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, the mega-initiative combines large-scale student-led plantation corridors, drone-seeded riverine restoration, and strict administrative crackdowns on environmental crimes to expand Assam’s carbon sink and protect its native biodiversity.
Core Pillars of the “Green Vision” Initiative
1. The Amrit Brikshya Andolan (Mass Plantation Drive)
Scheduled to run between August 10 and August 14, 2026 to coincide with Independence Day celebrations, this mega-drive aims to plant one crore (10 million) saplings across the state.
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Student Network: The initiative will mobilize nearly 10 lakh students from schools, colleges, engineering institutes, and medical colleges, with each student assigned to plant ten saplings.
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Survival Protocols: To move past traditional “plant-and-forget” campaigns, rural MGNREGA job-card holders will be deployed to assist students in nurturing the saplings.
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Fiscal Incentives & Geo-Tagging: Financial rewards will be directly linked to tree survival rates, tracked via geo-tagged monitoring. Students who successfully maintain their trees will be awarded the sovereign ‘Briksha Bandhu’ certificate.
2. Project ‘Phalbari’ (Indigenous Fruit Mission)
A major biodiversity and nutritional security framework, ‘Phalbari’, will officially roll out next year to cultivate and distribute one crore indigenous fruit saplings.
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Target Species: The mission will focus entirely on traditional and native fruit-bearing species, including Mango, Jackfruit, Leteku, Paniyal, Kordoi, and Kaji Nemu (Assam lemon).
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Execution Timeline: Specialized state nursery preparations for the targeted species are slated to begin later this year.
3. High-Tech Riverine Restoration & Civic Initiatives
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Char-Chapori Greening Initiative: The Forest Department is launching a pilot project to restore barren riverine islands (chars) along the Brahmaputra River. The project will leverage autonomous drones to disperse specialized seed balls across inaccessible sandbars, with plans to scale state-wide post-evaluation.
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‘Janmadin Seuj Shopath’ (Birthday Garden): Launching formally on July 7, 2026, every Forest Range in Assam will establish dedicated “Birthday Gardens.” Supported by an online advance-booking portal for saplings, the project encourages citizens to plant a tree to commemorate birthdays.
Zero-Tolerance Enforcement on Illegal Milling
Alongside conservation incentives, Forest Minister Mallabaruah announced an aggressive enforcement mandate targeting timber theft and illegal processing units.
“Strict instructions have been issued to all Range Officers and Divisional Forest Officers to eliminate illegal sawmill operations completely,” the Minister warned. “Bureaucratic and field officials will be held personally accountable and face strict disciplinary action if illegal sawmills continue to function within their jurisdictions.”
