In 1st phase of Aravali Green Wall project, Haryana to revive forest cover on 24.9k hectares
The state's restoration plan will be carried out in recorded forest areas (RFA) of five districts – Gurgaon, Faridabad, Nuh, Rewari and Mahendergarh – over three years. Charkhi Dadri, the sixth Haryana district where the Aravalis lie, is not part of this phase because most of the forest is intact there.
Haryana's principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Vineet Kumar Garg told TOI on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially launch the green wall project on June 5, which is observed as the world environment day.
"We will start work in Haryana the same day," Garg said.
Forest department officials said they used GIS (geographical information system) mapping to identify RFA – totaling 33,706 hectares – across the five districts. Of this, 24,990 hectares were found to be degraded.
Over half of the degraded land has low tree cover, around a quarter that has no forest cover at all, and 15% of it is scrubland, they said.
"Around 76% of this land has a deep soil profile, making it suitable for long-term ecological rehabilitation.
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Restoration will begin with soil and water conservation, followed by planting of 15-20 native species of vegetation per site, tailored to soil depth and local conditions," read a govt document titled 'Detailed Action plan Aravali Landscape Restoration (Aravali Green Wall)'.
The Aravali Green Wall project, announced by the central govt in 2023, borrows its conception from Africa's Great Green Wall initiative, under which an 8,000km "wall" of forests was restored across the continent.
Similarly, the idea is to revive 1.1 million hectares of the hills – the only barrier that blocks the expansion of Thar desert towards northwest India – by 2027. The range extends from Gujarat, crosses Rajasthan and Haryana, before levelling off in Delhi.
Almost 40% of the Aravalis are in Haryana's six districts, making the state's role particularly crucial for the green wall project to succeed.
The action plan also laid out district-wise targets for reviving Aravali land.
The largest chunk of degraded forest to be restored is in Nuh (9,839 hectares), followed by Gurgaon (6,063.7 hectares), Faridabad (3,852.7 hectares), Rewari (3,087.9 hectares) and Mahendergarh (2,146.2 hectares).
On the ground, work will involve plantation drives, development of check dams and percolation ponds, and restoration of grasslands, among other measures.
On Tuesday, activists said the state must also ensure that the Aravalis are legally protected as forests.
"What we need is strong legal cover to shield the Aravalis from the twin threats of illegal mining and rampant tree felling. Without it, this ancient range will continue to be chipped away — stone by stone, tree by tree," said Vivek Kamboj, an environmentalist.
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