World Environment Day: PM Modi to launch project to restore degraded land in Aravalli range

New Delhi: With the 700 km long Aravalli range facing degradation, the Union government is set to give a fresh push to the Green Aravalli project aiming to restore the mountain range’s ecological health and create a green wall stretching from Delhi to Gujarat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the renewed project on June 5 from South Delhi, one of the 29 districts in four states where the scheme will be executed.

Chief Ministers of Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat will be present at different Aravalli sites to mark their government’s support for the programme.

Large scale landscape restoration, wildlife corridor development, expansion of water catchment area, plantations of local species, development of grassland, setting up nurseries and livestock management would be a part of the scheme, sources said.

The Aravalli range houses 22 wildlife sanctuaries and four tiger reserves – Ranthambore, Sariska, Ramgarh-Vishdhari and Mukunda Hills.

Famous bird sanctuary Keoladeo national park and 40-50 forts of yesteryears are also nestled within the Aravalli range. Out of 1.25 lakh ha of land in Aravalli, nearly 42,000 ha of area are in reserve forests.

The range has several peaks, hillocks and ridges, with different elevations, having a highest of 1,732 metres above mean sea level at Guru Shikhar peak, Mount Abu.

One of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, Aravalli is full of minerals, flora and fauna and origin of some of rivers like Chambal and Luni.

“The project will act as a barrier against desertification and contribute to water recharging the groundwater in the Indo-Gangetic plains,” said an official.

Nearly 1,000 nurseries will be set up in each of the 29 districts to grow the native plants that will be transplanted to create the green wall.

“Forty such species have been identified for Delhi and 34 for Gujarat. Extra attention will be paid to remove the invasive weed like Vilayati Kikar (juliflora),” said an official. This thorny shrub is a key reason behind the degradation of the range.

Asked about illegal quarrying business flattening the mountain, sources said Haryana government’s proposal to create a safari park spread over 10,000 acres at Gurugram and Nuh districts, could address some of the problems.

Despite a Supreme Court’s 2002 order banning mining in Gurugram, Faridabad and Mewat districts of Haryana, illegal stone quarries have been doing brisk business supplying raw material to the real estate sector and chipping away the hills.

Even though the Centre in March 2023 launched the Aravalli Green Wall Project to green 5 km buffer area around the hill range in four states, the programme has been expanded to incorporate new initiatives that will be executed in partnership with the local community.