Overview

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi planted a banyan sapling in Delhi’s Ridge area on June 5 to formally inaugurate the Aravalli Green Wall project.
• The plan calls for a five-kilometre-wide green belt covering 6.45 million hectares across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat, targeting the 42% of land in the buffer zone classified as degraded.
• Authorities will establish around 1,000 nurseries in 29 districts of the range, using native saplings and enlisting local panchayats, NGOs and educational institutions to sustain planting.
• Officials say the project will contribute to India’s commitment to create an additional 2.5–3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent carbon sink and restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
• Restoration efforts will include afforestation, reforestation and water-body revival to improve soil fertility, enhance water availability and protect wildlife corridors in 22 sanctuaries and four tiger reserves.