A unique environmental movement that began with the rescue of a single Peepal tree is now turning into a mass green revolution in Maharashtra’s Sangli district. Led by MLA Suhas Babar, the initiative has evolved into a people-driven “Tree Army” with thousands of citizens joining hands to protect and restore nature.
The core idea behind the campaign is simple yet powerful: instead of cutting down Peepal trees, relocate and preserve them while expanding green cover across the region.
What started in the Khanapur-Atpadi belt has now become one of the most talked-about environmental movements in Sangli district. MLA Suhas Babar said the inspiration came from successfully relocating a Peepal tree, which gradually sparked large-scale public participation. Citizens are voluntarily contributing land, water, saplings, and even physical labour to strengthen the campaign.
Carrying forward the environmental vision of late MLA Anilbhau Babar, Suhas Babar has taken a remarkable pledge after the 2024 Assembly elections — to plant as many trees as the margin of votes he received: 78,178 saplings.
Babar said that after sharing the “story of the Peepal tree” on social media, the response was overwhelming. Thousands of people connected with the mission, and it was the public itself that coined the name “Tree Army” for the movement.
Several inspiring contributions have already emerged under the campaign. On the death anniversary ritual of his mother, Suhas Babar planted 5,300 mango saplings. A corporator from Vita Municipal Council donated 52 fully grown four-year-old trees to the initiative, while the Alasand Gram Panchayat carried out plantation of 500 saplings.
With support from the Sangli district administration and the Forest Department, plans are now underway to develop a one-acre Miyawaki forest using the Japanese afforestation technique. Simultaneously, a large-scale drive has begun to plant native, shade-giving trees along grazing lands and roadsides.
The campaign also aims to revive the once-famous “green tunnels” along roads — stretches lined with dense trees that offered shade and cooling to travellers before road widening projects wiped them out.
On June 5, World Environment Day, the Tree Army plans to undertake massive plantation drives featuring large native trees like Banyan, Peepal, Bahava, Karanj, and Tamarind. The movement has already received enthusiastic support from traders’ associations, social organisations, and citizens across the district.
MLA Suhas Babar has also appealed to people from the Khanapur-Atpadi region who now live outside the area for work to reconnect emotionally with their villages by participating in this green movement.