Mahindra’s Hariyali movement plants 13 million trees in 10 years

As a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) The Mahindra Group, one of India’s successful business house, had started its ‘Hariyali’ (Greenery) campaign a decade back. Till date, the company has planted 13 million trees all over India. Recently, the planting of the 13 milionth sapling had been done by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, in the presence of Forest Minister Shri Sudhir Mungantiwar and Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group. The sapling planted was that of a holy Rudraksha at the Adhya Shankaracharya Garden in Worli, Mumbai.

Mahindra got into the Hariyali on October 2,2007, the group’s 62nd Founder’s Day with the sole purpose of adding 1 million trees to India’s greenery year after year. Since then, the campaign has gained major traction with its employees as well as other stakeholders like customers, vendors and dealers who have been executing this planting drives so that the annual goal of 1 million trees is achieved.

“Climate is a reality and in Maharashtra we have been experiencing droughts across the State. If one compares the tree cover in a small country like Germany which is 33%, in Maharashtra it is just 21%. As part of our mission to give Maharashtra a new green cover, we plan to plant 50 crore trees in the next two years and thus plan to take the State’s cover to 33%. In keeping with Mahindra’s number of trees planted, in the next one year, we plan to plant 13 crore trees. We intend to plant fruit trees to not just aid tree plantation, but also provide alternative livelihoods to the farmers,” said Honourable Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, as he planted the 13 millionth sapling.

“I remember planting the very first sapling at the launch of Mahindra Hariyali a decade ago and I am delighted to see this programme take on the size and scale that it has achieved today. We are in the midst of a man-made crisis and it is our duty to strengthen Nature’s hand to help tackle climate change and meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement. The Mahindra Hariyali programme forms part of our contribution to the cause,” said Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group.

Ten years ago, Hariyali began as a simple effort to add to India’s green cover. Every sapling planted is helping combat climate change and the Hariyali tribe has been growing every year. Today, there is one Hariyali tree for every 100 people in India and the Hariyali tribe has 3.6 times the total amount of trees in Mumbai including those at the Aarey Colony.