Gandhinagar: The Gujarat Medicinal Plants Board, which functions under the state health department, distributed more than 2.8 lakh medicinal saplings through seven govt-run medicinal plant gardens across the state in 2025-26.An official statement on Sunday said the board provides up to 10 saplings free for personal use, 50 for schools and institutions, and 500 for farmers and public land. Sandalwood saplings from the Gandhinagar garden are also available at a subsidized price of Rs 20 each.The seven medicinal gardens are located at Gandhinagar; Rupvel in Vansda; Nani Reldi in Kutch; Jitnagar, near Rajpipla; Vrod, near Jhalod; Vanshi-Danta, near Palanpur; and Ahwa in Dang district. According to the statement, these gardens have become hubs for farmer subsidies and living laboratories for student research, drawing around 20,000 students, researchers, and ayurveda learners annually for hands-on study of medicinal plants.The gardens cultivate, study, and freely distribute a range of medicinal plants, including tulsi, giloy, aradusi, shatavari, ashwagandha, brahmi, long pepper, and harad.Founded in 2002 on a no-profit, no-loss basis, the board’s primary aim is to ensure the availability of quality medicinal plants for ayurvedic pharmacies and traditional healing systems. Besides spreading awareness about household remedies, it offers subsidies to farmers for commercial cultivation of medicinal crops.The board’s other initiatives include identifying high-return medicinal crops based on market demand, expanding medicinal plant cultivation in forests, running greening campaigns with NGO support, and promoting research in collaboration with universities.
