Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Tourism Suresh Gopi, CPCL MD H. Shankar, and The Hindu Group CEO L.V. Navaneeth at the tree plantation drive by CPCL on Wednesday.

| Photo Credit: S.R. RAGHUNATHAN

Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) concluded its Swachhata Pakhwada 2026, which was observed from July 1 to 15, 2026, with a tree plantation drive flagged off by Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Tourism Suresh Gopi on Wednesday.Around 500 saplings were planted by school students in the designated five-acre green belt development area in Amullaivoyal of Manali neighbourhood.“We have this 15 day exercise called Swachhata Pakhwada which is the responsibility of every human being because we are accountable and answerable to the standards that should be maintained in terms of atmospheric conditions,” Mr. Suresh Gopi said at the concluding ceremony, who also led the audience in taking the Swachh Bharat Mission pledge.Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, Member of Parliament (north Chennai), said that people should carry forward the message of cleanliness beyond the campaign period. “Through programmes like these, we can create more awareness among students and the public to keep India clean,” he said.“Cleanliness should not be just a day, it should be in our day to day lives. Each of us should take the responsibility to maintain a clean environment in our houses, streets, workplaces,” said N. Senthil Kumar, Tiruvottiyur constituency MLA.Speaking about CPCL’s environmental initiatives, H. Shankar, Managing Director of CPCL, said that the tree plantation was a small gesture to the overall commitment that the organisation has towards the Swachhata movement.“Earlier in the day, we planted around 4000 saplings in a school, and we have a long way to go. This tree plantation drive is going to add to a lot more biodiversity and improve air quality in the Manali neighbourhood. It will also bring down the temperature as well as carbon dioxide reduction,” Mr. Shankar said.L.V. Navaneeth, Chief Executive Officer of The Hindu Group; Rohit Kumar Agrawala, Director (Finance), CPCL, senior CPCL officials and school students participated. Some of the saplings planted included neem, guava, jackfruit, mango and Ashoka, among other native species. Published - July 15, 2026 09:29 pm IST