‘Plant, Protect, Nurture’: Assam Forest Minister Launches ‘Brikshya Bandhu’ Drive for Students

Assam Launches ‘Brikshya Bandhu’ Initiative to Involve Students in Statewide Tree Plantation Drive

Guwahati: Assam Forest and Environment Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah has launched the ‘Brikshya Bandhu’ initiative, calling upon the state’s youth to take an active role in protecting and nurturing Assam’s green cover.

Announcing the initiative through a social media post, Baruah said the programme aims to make Assam’s youth “custodians of our green future”. The initiative is being rolled out as part of the state’s larger Amrit Brikshya Andolan.

Under the campaign, students will be encouraged to plant saplings and take responsibility for their survival and growth. The plantation drive is scheduled to be carried out from August 10 to 14, with the broader target of planting one crore saplings across Assam.

The government had earlier announced that around 10 lakh students from Class IX onwards, including students of colleges, engineering and medical institutions, would participate in the campaign, with each student expected to plant 10 saplings.

The ‘Brikshya Bandhu’ initiative goes beyond plantation. According to the guidelines shared by the minister, participants are expected to plant their allotted saplings at designated locations, upload geo-tagged photographs documenting the plantation and subsequently monitor and protect the trees.

Students who successfully maintain their plantations and submit the required geo-tagged photographs will be recognised with a ‘Brikshya Bandhu’ certificate.

The programme also includes a mechanism to support the long-term survival of the saplings. Job card holders will assist students in nurturing the plantations, with incentives linked to the survival of the trees. Earlier, the government had announced an incentive of ₹1,500 for eligible job card holders, subject to at least 50 per cent of the planted saplings surviving.

The initiative is part of Assam’s wider efforts to expand green cover and encourage greater public participation in environmental conservation. The Amrit Brikshya Andolan, launched as a large-scale plantation campaign, seeks to strengthen tree cover beyond traditional forest areas through community participation.

With the ‘Brikshya Bandhu’ campaign, the state government is seeking to shift the focus from simply planting trees to ensuring that they are protected, nurtured and allowed to grow.