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Our Story & Mission

The problem isn't
planting trees.
It's keeping them alive.

One Lakh One Tree was born from a single stubborn question: what happens to saplings after the ceremony ends? We built the answer into a platform.

2019

Founded

13,700+

Trees Registered

87%

Survival Rate

29

States Planned

The Beginning

A plantation drive.
340 dead saplings.
One stubborn question.

In 2019, our founder attended a plantation drive in Maharashtra. Four hundred saplings went into the ground. Officials posed for photographs. News cameras recorded the ceremony. By every metric that mattered to the organisers, the day was a complete success.

Six months later, he returned to the same site. 340 of the 400 saplings were dead — not because the soil was wrong or the species unsuitable, but because after the event ended, not one person had been assigned responsibility for keeping them alive.

That day clarified something India's plantation ecosystem refuses to admit: we don't have a planting problem. We have an accountability problem. One Lakh One Tree was built to solve exactly that — one GPS-registered, custodian-accountable tree at a time.

"India plants billions of saplings every year. Most don't survive year one — because nobody is responsible for them after planting day."

— Founder, One Lakh One Tree
Hands planting a sapling

87%

Survival Rate

5yr

Commitment

What We Stand For

Four principles we refuse
to compromise on.

01

Transparency Over Performance

Every tree in our system is publicly accessible. GPS coordinates, custodian name, plantation date, growth history — all open record. We don't celebrate planting. We track survival.

02

Accountability Before Optics

Saplings planted without a named custodian don't enter our system. Every tree has a human being whose name is on record for five years. The ceremony is irrelevant. The commitment is everything.

03

Science-Led, Species-Specific

We plant what belongs. Every plantation uses native species matched to the local ecosystem — selected for survival rate, ecological value, and long-term canopy contribution, not appearance.

04

Trust Earned Through Data

CSR claims and ESG scores are only as good as the data behind them. We provide independent field verification, GPS-tagged evidence, and tamper-evident reporting so your trust isn't misplaced.

Our Journey

From a failed drive
to a national system.

2019 Oct Origin

The Catalyst

Founder attends plantation drive in Nashik. Returns 6 months later — 340 of 400 saplings dead. Zero accountability structures in place.

2020 Mar Build

System Architecture

Core GPS registration system designed. First custodian accountability framework drafted. Two NGO partnerships signed in Maharashtra.

2021 Jun Pilot

First 500 Trees

Western Ghats pilot: 500 trees, 5 NGOs, 12 custodians. Every tree GPS-tagged. 90-day monitoring protocol tested. 91% survival at 12 months.

2022 Jan Scale

Rajasthan Expansion

Dryland protocol launched for Aravalli Range. Khejri and Rohida programmes begin. First corporate CSR partnership: 200 trees, ₹2.4L.

2023 Apr Milestone

5,000 Trees Milestone

Platform reaches 5,000 GPS-registered trees across 5 states. First independent third-party audit. 87% average survival confirmed.

2024 Sep National

National Rollout

Phase 2 announced: 8 new states. Digital platform launched. Certificate system goes live. First ESG-grade report delivered.

2025 Now Now

13,700 & Expanding

Active in 5 states, 214 custodians. Phase 2 launching. Phase 3 planning: all 28 States and 8 Union Territories.

The Team

People who believe accountability
is the only sustainable strategy.

Arjun Mehta
Founder

Arjun Mehta

Founder & Executive Director

Environmental policy analyst turned builder. 8 years studying plantation failure data before deciding to fix it operationally rather than write about it.

Kavitha Rajan
Operations

Kavitha Rajan

Head of NGO Operations

14 years in community forestry across Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Built the custodian protocol and field verification workflow from ground up.

Rohan Verma
ESG

Rohan Verma

Head of Corporate Partnerships

Former ESG consultant at a Big 4 firm. Structures CSR programmes that stand up to auditor scrutiny — because most don't.

Ananya Krishnan
Science

Ananya Krishnan

Lead Botanist & Species Advisor

PhD in Forest Ecology, IISc Bangalore. Designs every species selection matrix used in our 6 ecosystem programmes.

Scientific Advisory Board

Forest ecologists from IISc, IIFM, and Wildlife Institute of India advise on ecosystem protocols and species selection.

CSR & ESG Advisory

Chartered accountants and sustainability consultants ensure all reporting meets SEBI ESG disclosure norms.

Field Network

47 certified NGO partners across 5 active states, trained in GPS documentation and verification protocols.

Vision 2030

One lakh trees.
One lakh custodians.
Every single one alive.

By 2030, we intend to operate in all 28 States and 8 Union Territories, with 1,00,000 GPS-registered trees — each with a named custodian, a verified 5-year survival history, and an independent audit trail.

This isn't a pledge. It's a system. The infrastructure is being built right now, state by state, custodian by custodian.

1,00,000

Target Trees

GPS-registered with survival records by 2030

29 + 8

States & UTs

Full national coverage across every ecosystem

₹1 Cr+

CSR Mobilised

Corporate ESG investment into verified plantation

100%

GPS-Verified

Zero trees without coordinates and custodian

Featured In & Recognised By

The Hindu Down To Earth Mongabay India Times of India India Today Economic Times The Wire Hindustan Times The Hindu Down To Earth Mongabay India Times of India India Today Economic Times The Wire Hindustan Times

"The most rigorous tree accountability system in India."

— Down To Earth, 2023

"They track every single tree. That's what makes this different."

— The Hindu, Environment Desk

"One Lakh One Tree is what forest policy should mandate nationwide."

— Mongabay India, 2024

Ready to Plant?

Plant a tree that lasts.

Your donation gets your tree in the ground, GPS-registered, and assigned to a named custodian. You'll receive updates every 90 days for five years.

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