(HT)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi planted a banyan sapling at Bhagwan Mahavir Vanasthali Park in Delhi’s Central Ridge on Thursday, symbolically launching the ambitious Aravalli Green Wall project on World Environment Day.
The initiative, part of the #EkPedMaaKeNaam campaign, aims to reforest the 670-kilometre Aravalli range that spans Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Modi planted the sapling in memory of his mother, continuing a tradition he began last year when he planted a peepal tree on Environment Day.
“The Aravalli range is one of the oldest on our planet, covering Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi,” Modi wrote on X. “Our government is committed to mitigating several environmental challenges relating to this range.”
The project will focus on rejuvenating areas linked with the ancient mountain range through improved water systems, dust storm mitigation and stopping the eastward expansion of the Thar desert, the PM said.
The Aravallis, likely India’s oldest mountain system, run southwesterly from Delhi to Gujarat and houses 22 wildlife sanctuaries, including four tiger reserves such as Ranthambore.
It serves as the source of important rivers including the Chambal and hosts the National Capital Region’s only primary forest, where tools from the lower Palaeolithic period (3.3 million to 300,000 years ago) and cave art were discovered.
“Forest lands around Sariska and Bardod Wildlife Sanctuaries were diverted before the 1980s, reducing its forest cover. Desertification is exacerbating as desert sands move eastward, compromising regions like Gurugram and Alwar. Mining activities have damaged aquifers, dried up lakes, and reduced the range’s ability to support wildlife. The Supreme Court has acknowledged the importance of the Aravalli in several judgments, issuing rulings to prevent mining, construction activities, and encroachment,” executive summary of the detailed action plan for Aravalli Green Wall states.
The project proposes to establish a buffer zone covering 6.45 million hectares around the Aravalli. Restoration will follow an integrated landscape approach, focusing on improving forest cover, restoring grasslands, managing livestock, and enhancing water systems through traditional and scientific methods.
The Aravalli Green Wall project involves large-scale landscape restoration across the four states, including removal of invasive Prosopis juliflora (mesquite) and planting of native species in reserved forest areas under the forest departments, HT reported on June 4.
Native species identified for planting include khair (Indian gum arabic), ronjh (White-barked Acacia), dhau (axlewood), pilkhan (white fig) and salai (Indian frankincense).
All plantation activities will be geo-tagged and monitored through the Meri LiFE portal, Modi announced. The project will employ both traditional planting methods and new techniques suited for urban and semi-urban areas .
Chief ministers of all four states participated in the initiative by planting trees in their respective Aravalli districts.
Push against single-use plastic
At a World Environment Day event held at Bharat Mandapam, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav underscored Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s environmental vision, attributing the plantation of 1.4 billion trees in a single year to his leadership. The event focused on combating plastic pollution, with Yadav urging Delhi residents to avoid single-use plastics and carry bags.
“Rapid urbanisation poses new challenges in solid waste management. India had taken early steps in tackling plastic pollution,” he said.
In a video message, the Prime Minister said preserving ecological balance was integral to Indian culture and recalled that India’s crackdown on plastic began well before the issue gained international urgency.
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, who attended the event, called for collective behavioural change to curb plastic use. “If we want a clean world, we must all give up single-use plastic. The Delhi government will take strict steps to implement the ban and promote waste segregation, which remains a key obstacle in waste management,” she said.
Later in the day, Gupta inaugurated the Dhanuka Waiting Hall at AIIMS, Delhi. She said the facility, intended for the comfort of patient attendants, would ease crowding in corridors.
