The Centre has planned to develop a green cover along the Aravalli mountain range to restore the degraded land in the area, stretching 700km from Gujarat to Delhi, under the Aravalli Green Wall initiative.

The government has also decided to develop 1,000 nurseries in the 29 districts of the Aravalli mountain range — one of the oldest mountain ranges in the country — as part of the project.

The Aravalli, spanning Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat, is constantly facing a threat from illegal mining and rapid urbanisation, leading to widespread environmental degradation in the range. To mitigate the degradation, the government has decided to plant more trees to provide a green cover.

According to environment ministry sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the project on June 5, marking World Environment Day. Modi will plant saplings in the ridge area in south Delhi, and the chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat will take part in the launch of the project from different areas of the mountain range, the sources said.

The project aims to restore green cover in Arvalli, enhance wildlife corridors and improve air quality across the range, including Delhi, an area that struggles with high levels of pollution mostly during winter.

The government has asked forest officials to mark the degraded areas, make a restoration plan and plant sustainable trees.

Of the total degraded area, 81 per cent is in Rajasthan, 15.8 per cent in Gujarat, 1.7 per cent in Haryana and 1.6 per cent in Delhi, according to the action plan.