PM Modi launches Aravalli Green Wall Project, expands 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign

"Our focus is to rejuvenate areas linked with this range. We are going to work with the respective local administrations and emphasise things such as improving water systems, curbing dust storms, stopping eastward expansion of the Thar desert and more," PM Modi said

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi planted a sapling at the Bhagwan Mahavir Vanasthali Park here on World Environment Day on Thursday, extending the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign and launching a special initiative to reforest the 700-km Aravalli mountain range that stretches from Delhi to Gujarat.

In a post on X, the prime minister said the Aravalli range is one of the oldest on the planet, covering Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, and that the last several years have brought to the fore several environmental challenges relating to the range, which his government is committed to mitigating.

"Our focus is to rejuvenate areas linked with this range. We are going to work with the respective local administrations and emphasise things such as improving water systems, curbing dust storms, stopping eastward expansion of the Thar desert and more," he said.

"In the Aravalli range and beyond, in addition to the traditional planting methods, we will encourage new techniques, especially in urban and semi-urban areas where there are space constraints. Plantation activities will be geo-tagged and monitored on the Meri LiFE portal," he said.

The prime minister called upon the youth to take part in the movement and contribute to increasing the planet's green cover. He also flagged off electric buses under the Delhi government's sustainable transport initiative.

"This will also improve 'Ease of Living' for the people of Delhi," the prime minister said.

The Aravalli Green Wall Project is a major initiative to expand green cover in the five-km buffer area around the Aravallis in 29 districts of the three states and a Union territory.

The government said this initiative will play a crucial role in combating air pollution in the region, achieving India's climate goal of creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

The project will enhance the biodiversity of the Aravallis through afforestation, reforestation and restoration of water bodies. It will also help improve soil fertility and water availability in the region, the government said.

It added that the project will benefit local communities by generating employment and income opportunities.

The chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat also participated in the launch of the project.

Officials from the environment ministry said around 1,000 nurseries will be developed in the 29 districts located in the Aravalli range as part of the initiative.

The five-km wide green buffer will cover 6.45 million hectares across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. Within this buffer zone, about 42 per cent (2.7 million hectares) of land is currently degraded.

The Aravalli range acts as a natural barrier against desertification, preventing the expansion of the Thar desert and protecting cities such as Delhi, Jaipur and Gurugram.

It is also the source of important rivers such as the Chambal, Sabarmati and Luni. Its forests, grasslands and wetlands support endangered plant and animal species.

However, deforestation, mining, livestock grazing, and human encroachment are worsening desertification, damaging aquifers, drying up lakes and reducing the range's ability to sustain wildlife.

Of the total degraded area, 81 per cent is in Rajasthan, 15.8 per cent in Gujarat, 1.7 per cent in Haryana and 1.6 per cent in Delhi. PTI GVS RHL