Jagdish Mahto in Bokaro. Picture by Pankaj Singh

Bokaro, March 29: He has been planting saplings all his life. Trees are to him, the symbol of Mother Earth and so, on every raksha bandhan day, he ties rakhis on them as a mark of respect.

Meet 48-year-old Jagdish Mahto, conferred the Tree Man award by the chief forest conservator of Bengal at Calcutta last month for having turned the Kasmar, Petarwar blocks of Bokaro district and Hisim hillocks — connecting Bokaro with Purulia (Bengal ) — into a green belt.

“My wife Maya and I talk, think, dream and live for trees,” Mahto told The Telegraph. “I remember the day when Naxalites kidnapped me and tortured me to admit that I was a police informer. But, I kept telling them that I am no informer, my only mission in life is to turning Mother Earth into a green earth.”

Dhanbad district forest officer (DFO) Sanjiv Kumar, who was posted in Bokaro for a short while, said Jagdish Mahto was Bokaro’s answer to Chipko movement leader Sundarlal Bahuguna.

“During my posting here I knew that Jagdish was true, honest and a loyal son of the soil who nurtured saplings like his children and worked for more than 10 hours even in extreme weather conditions.

“I salute the Tree Man for his dedication. He is an inspiration for everyone, including forest officials,” he added.

Mahto, who had to face ridicule from local villagers for his love for trees, never gave up. Today, he has formed more than 436 self help groups of villagers and encourages them to plant saplings of various varieties of trees like sal, mahua, mangoes and other fruit-bearing and medicinal plants.

On the occasion of raksha bandhan, members of his self help groups encourage villagers to tie rakhis on trees and take a pledge to save the earth by continuing to plant trees. Today, thousands of villagers take this pledge every year.