TheHaryanagovernment will develop 60 lakes and ponds in the Aravalis of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Nuh and Rewari as part of the Union Environment ministrys Green Wall initiative to revive the ancient hills.
Launched in March this year, the project is inspired by Africa countries’ Great Green Wall initiative and aims to restore green cover on the hills that stand as the only barrier blocking the expansion of desert-like conditions from Thar to northwest India, including Delhi-NCR.
The goal is to restore around 1.15 million hectares (MHA) of the forests across four states by 2027. For this, the central government has set up project units in every Aravali district.
A 2022 report by the IndianSpaceResearch Organisation (Isro) had found that around 8.2% of Haryanas total area or 3.6 lakh hectares had degraded to become more arid over the years. Experts said this was largely the impact of illegal mining and deforestation in the Aravalis.