As part of the BJP-led government’s nationwide campaign, Meri Mati Mera Desh (My Soil My Nation), the State Directorate of Higher Education in Maharashtra has issued directives to colleges to initiate preparations for the campaign, creating concerns about additional workload and academic disruptions for colleges. 
 
The directives mandate that colleges across the state establish a dedicated “vatika” or garden area by planting a minimum of 75 saplings within their premises. Furthermore, colleges are required to collect soil from their campuses and deliver it in urns to designated colleges in their respective talukas. These urns will be further sent to Mumbai with the ultimate goal of creating an ‘Amrit Vatika’ in Delhi through an ‘Amrit Kalash Yatra’, aiming to secure a Guinness World Records entry. The yatra will involve collecting of 7,500 urns across the country.

The initiative has sparked frustration and anger among colleges because of added burden