A total of 121,000 saplings were planted in Gautam Budh Nagar on World Environment Day on Friday, meeting the target as part of a statewide plantation drive under which the Uttar Pradesh government aimed to plant 50 million saplings in a single day, officials said.MP Dr Mahesh Sharma and Noida residents planting a sapling in the green belt of Sector 35. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)GB Nagar’s minister in-charge Brijesh Singh launched the plantation campaign by planting a Maulsari sapling at the Surajpur Wetland. He called upon residents to participate in environmental conservation efforts.Addressing the gathering, Singh urged residents to turn the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign into a mass movement and plant more trees in line with the state government’s environmental initiatives.“Environmental conservation is the need of the hour. Every citizen must fulfil his or her responsibility towards protecting nature,” Singh said. He appealed to residents, educational institutions, resident welfare associations, non-governmental organisations and government officials to plant at least one sapling under the campaign.According to officials, the drive was carried out with the participation of the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna authorities, along with the agriculture, horticulture, forest, rural development, panchayati raj and urban development departments.Students from schools and colleges, CRPF personnel, representatives of VIAF Foundation and local residents, besides administrative officials took part in the plantation programme.Speakers at the event said large-scale plantation drives have been organised across the state in recent years. They stressed that planting saplings alone was not sufficient and that ensuring their protection and growth was equally important.District magistrate Medha Roopam also appealed to residents to actively participate in the campaign and plant more trees. “Farmers have an important role in the success of this campaign. They can obtain saplings free of cost from the nodal departments and undertake plantation in their fields and surrounding areas,” the DM said.The programme concluded with the launch of a tree-distribution ceremony, during which saplings of tulsi, lemon, guava and other fruit-bearing species were distributed among volunteers, students and residents.