Thousands of hectares in Aravalli region restored in last 2-3 years: Bhupender Yadav

New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Union Minister for Environment Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday asserted that thousands of hectares in the Aravalli region have been restored in the last two to three years and the government remains committed to continuing this work with ecology at the centre of development.

The minister made the comments in his inaugural address at the 'National Conference on Eco-restoration of the Aravalli Landscape: Strengthening the Aravalli Green Wall' here.

"The government is committed to the restoration and conservation of the Aravallis and similar ecosystems across the country. Thousands of hectares in the Aravalli region have been restored in the last two to three years and the government remains committed to continuing this work with ecology at the centre of development," he said.

Yadav said the government launched the Aravalli Green Wall Project as part of India's commitment under the UNCCD to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

"Under this initiative, 6.45 million hectares of degraded land in the Aravalli region have been identified, with greening work initiated over 2.7 million hectares across Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. Divisional forest officers from 29 Aravalli districts are implementing the project, focusing on plantations of native species suited to arid and semi-arid conditions," the minister said.

The comments by the minister come weeks after a controversy on the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) recommending a change in the definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges to protect the world's oldest mountain system in October this year. The Supreme Court accepted the recommendations in November but kept the order in abeyance on December 29.

Recalling a conservation decision, Yadav said that around 97 square kilometres of Aravalli revenue land, stretching from Naurangpur to Nuh in Haryana and heavily degraded land, has been identified for afforestation and has also been declared a protected forest by Haryana for better protection and management.

The minister described it as a major policy intervention to protect and afforest the Aravallis after Independence.

Highlighting the ecological and historical importance of the region, Yadav said the Aravallis are the country's oldest mountain range and have sheltered human civilisation for thousands of years.

"The Aravalli ecosystem is protected by four tiger reserves and 18 protected areas, while additional green interventions are being undertaken wherever required. India has taken global leadership in wildlife conservation and the country is home to five of the world's seven big cat species and nearly 70 per cent of the global tiger population, which continues to grow," he said.

The conference brought together policymakers, forest officials, experts, practitioners and civil society representatives to deliberate on the ecological significance of the Aravalli range and pathways for its restoration.

Yadav also released a report titled "Eco-restoration of the Aravalli Landscape," prepared by the Sankala Foundation, during the inaugural session.

The report released at the conference provides a scientific, community-driven and scalable framework to strengthen the 'Aravalli Green Wall Project' of the ministry under the National Action Plan to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation.

It emphasises that restoration efforts must be landscape-scale, data-driven, community-anchored and multidisciplinary, noting that isolated interventions are no longer adequate given the scale of degradation and ecological pressures in the region. PTI GJS GJS APL APL