Only 35.95% Success Rate: Are Jharkhand's Schools Failing the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' Initiative?

Ranchi: Govt schools in the state achieved only 35.95% of its target set in the past three months under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ plantation drive, which was launched on June 5 on the occasion of World Environment Day.According to the scheme, 44,438 schools were tasked with planting 40,07,840 saplings by September. Only 14,40,709 saplings have been planted, covering 37,881 schools. The data was uploaded on the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ portal on September 7.But many schools failed to upload their reports on the portal, making the state lag behind its target, education department officials said.Among the districts, Gumla emerged as the frontrunner in implementing the scheme.

Out of its target of 1,60,340 saplings, the district has achieved 81.98%. Latehar follows in second place with 69.46% of its target of planting 1,07,280 saplings completed. West Singhbhum secured the third spot, completing 47.80% of its target of 1,97,310 plantations. Ranchi stands fifth with 40.59% achievement against its target of planting 3,16,570 saplings.Sahibganj recorded the lowest performance. Out of its target of 1,35,940 saplings, only 13.95% were planted.

Palamu, too, fell behind with 19.33% completion of its target of planting 2,66,950 saplings, followed by Chatra, where just 19.82% of 1,62,340 saplings were planted.Officials stressed that better monitoring and timely reporting on the portal are necessary to meet the September deadline.State project director Shashi Ranjan said, “The campaign is not only about plantation but also about fostering a culture of environmental responsibility among students and schools.”