Haryana to unveil plan to prevent the Aravallis from turning into a desert

A survey conducted by WII pointed to 12 gaps between the Aravalli ranges caused due to the drifting of sand

Concerned over the desertification of the Aravallis, the Haryana government will launch a programme next week to take immediate steps to conserve the forest area.

On the World Environment Day, HT took stock of the city’s tree cover. Indiscriminate felling of trees for both government and commercial projects is posing a threat to Gurgaon’s already shrinking green space. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

The survey by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) pointed to 12 gaps that have appeared because of drifting of sand in the Aravallis, raising manifold the risk of the area turning into an extension of the Thar desert. The findings have drawn alarm from conservationists and environment activists ahead of the World Environment Day, which is to be observed on Monday.

The 12 identified gaps on the Aravalli hills extend from Magra hills in Ajmer district to Khetri-Madhogarh hills in Jhunjhunu district and the northern-most hillocks in Mahendragarh district of Haryana.

The extremely vulnerable areas in the Aravallis include Dungarpur-Banswar, gap area on the Aravalli Range, Upper Banganga Valley, Magra Area, Girwa-Gogunda tract, Jaisamand lake area, Daragarh-Banara-Maja-Dariba area, Abu-Sirohi and Chappan Hills in the south Aravallis.

“The findings (of the WII survey) has evoked concern and it is high time we saved the Aravallis from turning into a desert. Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar will inaugurate the conservation programme at Bhondsi on June 17,” MD Sinhna, conservator of forest, South Haryana,said.

The programme will talk about the ways to slow down the gaps and desertification process of the Aravallis.

Read I Aravallis could lose vegetation, become barren, says survey

Taking a serious view of the situation, the state government is in the process of preparing a road map that will be launched on June 17.The state has less than 4% of forest cover and the government aims to increase it by 10% over the next three years.