Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath combined a serious environmental message with razor-sharp political wit on Friday, June 5, during a state event celebrating World Environment Day. While launching a massive tree-planting drive in Lucknow, the Chief Minister took a humorous, indirect swipe at his political rivals over stolen public property, leaving the entire audience in splits.
Speaking at the launch of the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” (A Tree in the Name of Mother) Plantation Campaign 2026, Yogi Adityanath was outlining civic duties when he brought up the state’s clean water initiatives.
“We expanded the Har Ghar Nal (Tap Water for Every Household) scheme to ensure everyone gets water,” the Chief Minister said with a knowing smile. “But then we find out that someone is stealing the water taps! Others are damaging the infrastructure, or just leaving the water running blindly.”
The unexpected dig closely echoing long-standing local political jokes about stolen house fittings instantly caused the Chief Minister to burst into a grin, while the bureaucrats and citizens in attendance broke into loud laughter.
CM Yogi Urges Citizens to Take Five Promises
The lighthearted moment came while the Chief Minister was asking the people of Uttar Pradesh to adopt five core vows to protect the environment and public property. He emphasized that individual civic responsibility is the only way state development can survive.
He outlined the five promises as follows:
Plant for Your Mother: Every citizen must plant at least one sapling in honor of their mother.
Protect the Trees: Planting a tree is not enough; citizens must actively guard them against stray animals and anti-social elements who destroy green cover.
Guard Public Utilities: People must protect water infrastructure. “If someone is stealing a tap, stop them. If someone leaves a public tap running, turn it off,” the CM urged.
Ban Single-Use Plastic: Completely eliminate single-use plastics from daily life to stop toxic waste from choking local soil and rivers.
Adopt Eco-Friendly Living: Shift toward a sustainable lifestyle that respects nature rather than exploiting it.
“No Solution Without Public Help”
Moving back to a serious note, Chief Minister Adityanath connected environmental safety directly to the survival of future generations. He stated plainly that government policies alone cannot fix global warming or pollution without massive public support.
“We must always remember: if the environment is saved, nature survives. If nature survives, all living creations remain safe,” CM Yogi stated during his address.
Warning that rapidly rising pollution, shrinking forests, and a damaged ecological balance have become the biggest global threats, he concluded with a strong message: no environmental crisis can be solved until ordinary citizens step up, protect their local surroundings, and actively stop people from damaging public property.
