Radhika Anand's Mission Fal-Van increasing India's green cover

Air pollution in India is quite a serious issue with major sources being fuelwood and biomass burning, fuel adulteration, vehicle emission and traffic congestion.

While the issue is consistent throughout the year, winters have it worse, due to large scale crop residue burning in agriculture fields which are a major source of smoke, smog and particulate pollution.

While there is a lot of talk on how to curb the situation, there remains one sure shot solution- plant more trees.

Under her ambitious project, Mission Fal-Van, Mrs. Radhika Anand, has taken it upon herself to help create more green cover and oxygen for our future generations and food for all species existing on planet Earth.

Mission "Fal Van" is a citizen's movement towards planting more and more fruit trees across India. With the target of planting at least 50,000 fruit trees each year, since its inception in the year 2015; Mission Fal Van, a project under Plantology India, has managed to plant more than 2,07,000 saplings in less than 2 years!

While there have been many such initiatives in the recent past, what stands out about Mission Fal-Van is that, although it started out as a passion project by Mrs. Anand using her own resources and contributions from friends and family; the involvement of the Indian Army, and recently the CISF and NSG, to help Radhika in this green initiative is quite impressive. In recognition of these efforts, Radhika has been appointed Green Ambassador by both the NSG and CISF. The anticipated footprint over the coming months shall cover Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Radhika, a former Air Force officer's daughter, chose this synergistic partnership with the Indian Armed Forces as it ensured not only a seamless planting rollout, and ensuring that these trees would be tended for by a disciplined and passionate force for generations to come.

With help from the Indian Army, Radhika has planted close to 1,60,000 saplings of local trees such as mango, blackberry, tamarind, amla, jamun, mulberry, guava, bel patra and jackfruit trees across the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa. In selected residential areas in these states, citrus trees have also been planted. With the NSG approximately, 25,000 and with the CISF approximately 22,000 fruit trees have been sown. In November 2017, Mission Fal-Van went international, with the first tree sowing in Bali, Indonesia.

What makes Mission Fal-Van sustainable and enduring is the choice of saplings planted. After careful research only local, and not exotic trees are selected to be sown. Most trees are not only resilient but consume less water as well. Translated into figures, what it means is environmental positives. Close to 2,07,000 trees planted over 9 Indian states and 1 international island, generate nearly 2,48,40,000 Kgs of oxygen every year; enough to support an entire city all year long; produce an average of 3,10,50,000 kgs of fruit every season.

Plantology, is a decade old, self-funded organization, set up with the singular intent of endeavoring to enhance afforestation environment awareness and activism of young minds to enable this vision. Based in Delhi, Radhika, who is also the founder and CEO of Plantology; has worked in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Delhi Government and various corporate entities, in the past, conducting workshops, to educate the Indian youth with the importance of maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Plantology's mission is to facilitate a mass movement amongst young minds, which has subsequently manifested in productive socio-economic welfare outcomes.