The Supreme Court has ordered the Haryana government to take “all essential measures” to remove encroachments, including some residential constructions, in the ecologically fragile Aravali forest land near a village.

Aravali Range

• The Aravali is a mountain range in Northwestern India, running approximately 670 km in a southwest direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Gujarat.
• The highest peak is Guru Shikhar at 1,722 meters.
• The Aravalli Range, an eroded stub of ancient mountains, is the oldest range of fold mountains in India.
• The natural history of the Aravalli Range dates back to times when the Indian Plate was separated from the Eurasian Plate by an ocean.
• Three major rivers and their tributaries flow from the Aravalli, namely Banas and Sahibi rivers which are tributaries of Yamuna, as well as Luni River which flows into the Rann of Kutch.
• The Sariska-Delhi leopard wildlife corridor is a 200 km long important biodiversity and wildlife corridor which runs from the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan to Delhi Ridge.

Threats to its existence

• Ecological degradation in the Aravalli region is in an alarming situation.
• This is due to the increasing population of humans and cattle, injudicious use of natural resources, unscientific mining, uncontrolled grazing, and felling of trees.

Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

Q.With reference to the river Luni, which one of the following statements is correct?

(a) It fl ows into Gulf of Khambhat

(b) It fl ows into Gulf of Kuchchh

(c) It fl ows into Pakistan and merges with a tributary of Indus

(d) It is lost in the marshy land of the Rann of Kuchchh

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