Ahmedabad, Aug 9 (IANS): The Adani Foundation on Friday said it has won the ‘Van Pandit Award’ for planting more than 1,70,000 trees in Gujarat's Mundrat in 2022-23.

The award was conferred by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, in the presence of senior officials.

This achievement has ranked the Foundation at number one among the prominent organisations carrying out tree plantation in the country.

"Each one of us should plant one tree in the name of our mother and our ancestors towards making our earth green. The target of Gujarat state is to plant 17 crore trees by March 2025," the Chief Minister said.

The Foundation began tree plantation in Mundra’s Nana Kapaya village during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-21.

"The Adani Foundation has been continuously working towards creating a sustainable environment and empowered societies in the last 28 years," said Vasant Gadhavi, Executive Director of Adani Foundation. About 50,000 plants have been planted by the people of Mundra taluka through this campaign. Another 21,000 dates and mango plants were distributed to the farmers of Mundra taluka, the Foundation added.

The Adani Foundation has undertaken plantation drives at more than 150 places in 35 villages of Mundra. "Our afforestation and organic farming initiatives are not just enriching the soil in the region, but also helping farmers adopt new ways of farming, which are sustainable and profitable," Gadhavi added.