Telangana to see mass jammi tree plantation under Green India Challenge

The Green India Challenge has launched a fresh plantation drive to promote jammi trees across Telangana. Led by former member of Rajya Sabha Joginapally Santosh Kumar, the campaign aims to plant jammi trees in every village and temple, with 10,000 saplings ready

Hyderabad: The Green India Challenge (GIC) has launched a State-wide initiative to promote the planting of jammi (Prosopis cineraria) trees across Telangana, with the vision of ensuring the sacred tree finds a place in every village and temple.

Marking the fifth year of the campaign, GIC has already facilitated the plantation of thousands of jammi trees in villages and temples over the past four years. The latest drive was formally launched on the occasion of Dasara at Sri Shankara Gurukula Veda Pathashala in Shamirpet and Sri Gayatri Veda Pathashala in Keesara. The launch saw active participation from students of the veda pathashalas, with the GIC team unveiling the campaign poster.

Widely revered since Vedic times, the jammi tree holds deep cultural and spiritual significance and was declared the State tree of Telangana soon after the State’s formation.

However, environmentalists caution that the species faces extinction pressures. To counter this, former member of Rajya Sabha and GIC founder Joginapally Santosh Kumar has spearheaded the “one jammi tree for every village and for every temple” initiative under the Green India Challenge.

His larger efforts to expand India’s green cover, from massive sapling distribution drives to large-scale plantation programmes involving lakhs of people, have been widely recognised and have earned him national appreciation for his commitment to environmental protection.

10,000 saplings ready for distribution

As Telangana prepares for Dasara Navaratri, when exchanging jammi leaves is considered a symbol of goodwill, the GIC has readied more than 10,000 jammi saplings for free distribution to villages and temples.

Vedic scholars and GIC members recalled that the jammi tree was declared Telangana’s State tree by former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and welcomed Santosh Kumar’s vision to integrate the tree into public spaces, schools, and temples. They pledged full support to the campaign by planting and safeguarding jammi trees across the State.