Gandhinagar/Sabarkantha, March 18 (IANS) Under the ‘Green Wall of Aravalli’ scheme, 2.30 lakh trees have been planted in Sabarkantha district over the last two years, State Minister for Forests and Environment, Pravin Mali, informed the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
The project, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 5, 2025, from New Delhi, aims to develop a green corridor along the Aravalli mountain range, which extends from Gujarat to Delhi.
Responding to a question raised by an MLA, the minister said that the survival rate of the trees planted so far has been very high.
“For rapid growth, the Forest Department will prepare saplings of six to 10 feet and distribute them, so tree enthusiasts will not need to procure saplings from private nurseries. The department will maintain these trees for 10 years,” Mali said.
As part of the initiative marking Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, the Forest Department is preparing memorial forests containing 562 trees in each legislative assembly constituency, in memory of the leader’s work in uniting 562 princely states.
Memorial forests have already been created at Idar, Khedbrahma, Prantij, and Himmatnagar.
Mali also provided updates on the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme, stating: “In the past one year, a total of 14 lakh saplings have been planted over 1,508 hectares in Sabarkantha district, including 4.55 lakh saplings over 454 hectares in Khedbrahma.”
The ‘Green Wall of Aravalli’ initiative is a large‑scale ecological restoration programme launched to combat land degradation and desertification along the Aravalli mountain range, which stretches across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.
The project aims to establish a five‑kilometre‑wide green belt along this range by planting native species of trees and shrubs on scrubland, wasteland and degraded forest areas, as well as rejuvenating surface water bodies such as ponds and streams and promoting agroforestry and pasture development.
–IANS
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