Government announces 'One Child, One Tree' programme

The government will implement a mega programme to plant 25 crore trees across the country over the next five years to combat the effects of climate change and maintain environmental balance. Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said this initiative will create approximately 3.5 lakh green jobs, both directly and indirectly.

The finance minister announced this eco-friendly and revolutionary plan while presenting the proposed budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year in the National Parliament on Thursday afternoon, June 11.

Under the 'One Child, One Tree' programme, a plan has been finalised to plant 1 crore trees in the homes or yards of government primary school students, the finance minister noted.

According to the budget speech, the target for the 2026-27 fiscal year includes planting 4.28 crore saplings in block plantations across 25,960 hectares. Additionally, specific plans include planting 37.27 lakh saplings in strip plantations covering 3,727 kilometres, 1.77 crore saplings in mangrove plantations across 4,000 hectares, and 56 lakh saplings in homestead forestry.

The finance minister further said that an initiative will be taken to bring 50 per cent of the country's coastal mangrove forests under carbon trading activities to combat the adverse effects of climate change. He also highlighted in his budget speech the revolutionary plan to implement a 'Circular Future Model' for waste management.