Context: On the eve Raksha Bandhan, using leaf vines, women and children tied symbolic rakhi to the trees and took an oath to protect the Aravali forests that are the lifeline for clean air and water in Gurugram and National Capital Region.
Background

• The degradation of the Aravalis threatens Gurugram and National Capital Region’s water security. 
• High levels of natural cracks and fissures in the Aravali hills make this mountain range a superior zone for recharging groundwater, which is in the red zone at this point in time as extraction is several folds more than what is put back into the ground.

Aravali Range

• They are aligned in north-east to south-west direction. They run between Delhi and Palanpur in Gujarat.
• The highest peak is Guru Shikhar at 1,722 metres (5,650 ft).
• They are one of the oldest fold mountains of the world and the oldest in India.
• According to some geographers, one Branch of the Aravalis extends to the Lakshadweep Archipelago through the Gulf of Khambhat and the other into Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
• At the south-west extremity the range rises to over 1,000 m. Here Mt. Abu (1,158 m), a small hilly block, is separated from the main range by the valley of the Banas.
• Pipli Ghat, Dewair and Desuri passes allow movement by roads and railways.
• The Aravalli Range joins two of the ancient earth’s crust segments that make up the greater Indian craton– Aravalli Craton and Bundelkand Craton.

Rivers

• 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 Great Green Wall of Aravalli

• It is a 1,600 km long and 5 km wide green ecological corridor along Aravalli range from Gujarat to Delhi.
• It will be connected to Shivalikhill range.
• To be implemented on a concept similar to the Great Green Wallof Sahara in Africa, it will act as a buffer against pollution.