Gandhinagar celebrated a special day on Tuesday, honoring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 75th birthday and World Ozone Day with the Climate Change Awards 2025-26. The Gujarat government handed out these awards to 19 outstanding individuals and eco-friendly organizations, spotlighting their efforts to fight climate change.
The awards covered seven key areas: tree plantation, renewable energy, waste management, water conservation, sustainable research, and community-driven green projects. State Forest, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Mulubhai Bera presented the honors and shared how Gujarat is creating a strong “green shield” against global warming. He emphasized getting people involved in massive tree-planting drives to make a real difference.
Under the inspiring “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0” campaign, launched by PM Modi, Gujarat has planted over 7.5 crore trees. This huge effort shows the state’s deep commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. The event also recognized 56 other groups and activists from Sadbhavana Trust for their hard work in tree conservation and eco-protection.
Winners in the top spots grabbed cash prizes: Rs 1 lakh for first place, Rs 75,000 for second, and Rs 50,000 for third. Minister Bera gave a shoutout to PM Modi, who set up Asia’s first dedicated Climate Change Department back in 2009 when he was Gujarat’s Chief Minister. This move has turned into a blueprint for tackling disasters like cyclones, floods, landslides, and earthquakes—issues getting worse due to climate change.
Gujarat’s green initiatives are booming. Take the green corridor project: they’ve already planted more than 20,000 trees along the Somnath-Dwarka highway as a test run, with big plans to cover over 600 highways statewide. In Morbi, Sadbhavana Trust pulled off an amazing feat by creating a Miyawaki forest with 10 lakh trees on 1,200 hectares in just 37 days. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will inaugurate it on Wednesday.
The state is going all-in on renewable energy too, with Rs 100 crore set aside to put solar panels on every government office. This push aims to get 50% of Gujarat’s power from clean sources by 2030. “This green shield is now a real people’s movement,” Bera said, calling on everyone to ditch single-use plastics and embrace sustainable habits.
Some standout winners this year include Gandhinagar-Palaj Primary School in the educational category, Shree Ramkrishna Exports Private Limited for industries, and Dr. Upendra Patel as an individual. In research, Shah Manan Rajiv took the top prize, while Gujarat Environment Management Institute (GEMI) shone in public awareness. Start-up Eshitwa Robotics Systems Private Limited earned nods for eco-innovation, and Falguni Joshi won big in the women entrepreneurs section.
Sadbhavana Trust President Vijay Dobariya highlighted how thousands of citizens are pouring in crores of rupees for tree plantation campaigns across Gujarat. He promised that by 2030, the state will plant 15 crore trees, building a greener future for kids.
Since starting in 2021-22, these Climate Change Awards have grown into a yearly highlight, celebrating everyday heroes and groups leading the charge on climate action. This time, the department got 25 entries and picked 19 winners. Top officials from the Forest and Climate Change Department, Gujarat Energy Development Agency, and various NGOs joined the lively ceremony.
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