Grass to be planted in barren parts of Gurugram's Aravallis

Gurugram: In order to prevent water from overflowing the Aravallis hillocks towards the plain areas, the south Haryana Forest Department plans to grow grass in barren parts of the forested areas.

The objective of this exercise is to ensure that water is not stored in the green belt areas, thereby acting as natural aquifer.

The forest survey, conducted by the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment, mentions that the water table in forests of Haryana have reduced to 24 per cent from 2005 to 2017.

The adverse impact of the depleting water table is also being felt in the Aravallis in Gurugram, where falling groundwater reserves has resulted in wild animals from the forests venturing into human settlements.

Now, the problem of low water quantity is also preventing forest officials from planting new species of trees in the Aravallis. Presently, the forest cover of the district is donned by Kikar trees.

Not only Delhi's, but even Gurugram's green cover is getting adversely affected by huge plantation of Kikar (Prosopis julifora) in the green area of the city. The worse impact of Kikar is being felt in Aravallis, where a large number of these trees has prevented growth of other trees and reduced groundwater levels in the already parched Aravallis.

Other green belt areas too have borne the brunt of rapid urbanisation. There have been reports that declining green cover over the years has compounded challenges of falling ground water levels.