Green Manifesto, 2024

• 05 Sep 2024

Why in News? 

Recently, the People for Aravallis group initiated the development of a ‘Haryana Green Manifesto 2024’ in response to the growing environmental crisis in the state.

Key Points

• Green Manifesto: The document was created after a unique participatory exercise, gathering inputs from rural and urban stakeholders across 17 districts of Haryana ahead of the assembly elections.
  • Experts in ecology, agriculture, urban planning, and sustainable architecture contributed to shaping a green vision for Haryana.
• Key Demands in the Green Manifesto:
  • Legally designate the Aravallis and Shivaliks as "critical ecological zones" to prohibit destructive activities and commercial projects.
  • Promote the use of alternative building materials to preserve the remaining hills.
  • Designate Mahendergarh district as a "pahadi dark zone" and cease all mining and stone-crushing operations due to critically low groundwater levels (1,500-2,000 feet).
  • Withdraw the state's appeal in the Supreme Court to legalize mining in the National Capital Region (NCR).
  • Remove landfills in Bandhwari, Pali, and near ITI colony on the Old Sohna-Alwar road.
  • Halt illegal dumping and burning of chemical waste from industrial units in Bhiwadi, Khori Khurd, and other villages in Nuh district.
  • Provide compensation and quality farmland to villagers whose lands have been impacted by these activities.
• Demands for Forest Protection:
  • Provide legal protection to all forests by including un-notified forests as "deemed forests" under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900.
  • Legislate a Tree Act for Haryana, similar to the stringent Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994.
  • Declare all open natural ecosystems (ONEs), such as the blackbuck natural habitat in Fatehabad district, as conservation or community reserves.
  • Remove Haryana’s ONEs from the Wasteland Atlas of India, which categorizes these ecosystems as ‘unproductive’ land for agriculture or industrial use.
  • Implement an action plan to increase Haryana’s forest and tree cover to 10% within four years.
  • Reintroduce traditional Haryana tree species, such as Lesoda, Khejri, Indrok, and Jaal, and promote native planting in an ecologically correct manner (tall trees, under-storey trees, shrubs, climbers, grasses) to create biodiversity-rich spaces.
• Demands for Food Security:
  • Promote crop diversification as a key climate-change adaptation strategy.
  • Ensure guaranteed purchase of every crop grown by farmers at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) announced by the Centre.
  • Incentivize natural farming practices that improve soil health.
  • Scale up the ‘keeth pathshalas’ (insect schools), which have been educating farmers in some villages for the past 15 years, to all districts. These schools teach the balance between vegetarian and non-vegetarian insects, reducing the need for insecticide spraying.

Aravali Mountain Range

• The Aravallis is the oldest folded mountain on Earth.
• It spans over 800 km from Gujarat to Delhi (through Rajasthan and Haryana).
• The highest peak in the Aravalli Range is Guru Peak on Mount Abu.
• Impact on Climate:
  • The Aravallis have an impact upon the climate of northwest India and beyond.
  • During monsoons, the mountain range gently guides the monsoon clouds eastwards towards Shimla and Nainital, thus helping nurture the sub-Himalayan rivers and feeding the north Indian plains.
  • In the winter months, it protects the fertile alluvial river valleys (the para-Indus and Gangetic) from the assault of cold westerly winds from Central Asia.