Haryana takes measures to prevent soil erosion in Aravalli Hills

Haryana Chief Secretary, Sanjeev Kaushal, chaired the 6th Steering Committee meeting of the Haryana State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) on Wednesday. The committee approved an Annual Plan of Operation worth Rs. 239.78 crore under CAMPA.

A sum of Rs. 111.58 crore has been approved for Compensatory Afforestation (CA), Additional Compensatory Afforestation (ACA), and Penal Compensatory Afforestation (PCA) to be carried out over 1,197.73 hectares of land this year.
The Shivalik Hill and the Aravalli Hill regions were the focus of the meeting. Located in the southern part of the state, both hill regions are highly prone to runoff and soil erosion due to their hilly and undulating topography. During the monsoon, rainwater drains rapidly from these areas, leading to a major loss of topsoil. Therefore, soil conservation measures such as the construction of earthen dams, masonry structures, cement concrete structures, check dams, silt detention dams, and crate wire structures, are required. A substantial budget of Rs. 20 crore has been allocated for these construction projects.

Furthermore, Rs. 10 crore has been approved for habitat improvement and infrastructure development in protected areas under the wildlife management plan for 2023-24. The state manages two national parks, seven wildlife sanctuaries, two conservation reserves, and five community reserves through its Wildlife Wing. Additionally, tree enumeration is to be conducted in 20 territorial forest divisions.