Green India Challenge marks KTR’s 50th birthday with 1,000 bamboo saplings along Godavari

The Green India Challenge launched its ninth edition by planting 1,000 bamboo saplings on the Godavari riverbank in Maharashtra. The campaign aims to plant 99 lakh native trees with five million volunteers to restore river ecosystems and improve climate resilience.

Hyderabad: The Green India Challenge (GIC) launched its ninth edition with the plantation of 1,000 bamboo saplings on the banks of the River Godavari at Babhali village in Dharmabad taluka of Nanded district, Maharashtra. The launch, coinciding with the 50th birthday of BRS Working president KT Rama Rao, marked the beginning of one of India’s largest citizen-led river basin ecological restoration initiatives.

The inaugural plantation was led by Green India Challenge founder and former Member of Parliament Joginipally Santosh Kumar in the presence of Igniting Minds Organisation founder Mardi Karunakar Reddy.

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The campaign aims to plant and nurture 99 lakh native trees with the participation of five million volunteers across the Godavari, Manjara and Pranahita river basins. Plantation activities will cover both banks of the Godavari from Basar in Telangana to Trimbakeshwar in Maharashtra, creating a continuous green corridor to strengthen river ecology, improve biodiversity and enhance climate resilience.
The organisers said the campaign was launched in Maharashtra in view of the increasing climate challenges facing the Deccan region. Marathwada has recorded nearly a four-degree rise in temperatures this year, underscoring the need for large-scale ecological restoration. The Green India Challenge has adopted a river basin restoration approach, focusing on native species that protect watersheds while supporting local livelihoods.

The campaign began with bamboo plantation because of its ecological and economic advantages. Bamboo’s extensive rhizome system helps stabilise riverbanks, prevent soil erosion, improve groundwater recharge and absorb atmospheric carbon rapidly. Native species such as Dendrocalamus strictus and Bambusa bambos, which are well suited to the Deccan Plateau, are expected to restore degraded landscapes while creating sustainable income opportunities for farming communities.
Founded in 2018, the Green India Challenge has evolved into one of the world’s largest citizen-led environmental movements. Without any statutory mandate, the initiative has mobilised more than 44 million citizens and facilitated the plantation of over 196 million saplings through voluntary public participation.

Speaking on the occasion, Joginipally Santosh Kumar said, “A river is not merely a flow of water. It is sustained by its forests, nourishes its farmers and belongs to future generations. On KT Rama Rao’s 50th birthday, we wanted to celebrate with a gift that would outlive us all. These bamboo groves are not just plantations, they are investments in the future of the Godavari basin.”
He said the ninth edition marked the next phase of the Green India Challenge’s mission to plant one billion trees by October 15, 2031, the birth centenary of Bharat Ratna Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, whose vision continues to inspire the movement.