Context: The Delhi High Court recently indicated it may stay an event proposed by the forest department inside the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

About the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

• The sanctuary covers an area of 32.71 sq. km on the Southern Delhi Ridge of the Aravalli hill range on the Delhi-Haryana border.

• It lies in Southern Delhi and the northern parts of Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana state.

• It is also part of the Sariska-Delhi Wildlife Corridor, which runs from the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan to Delhi Ridge.

• Vegetation: As per Champion & Seth (1968), the vegetation falls under the Northern Tropical Thorn Forests type.

• The native plants exhibit xerophytic adaptations such as thorny appendages, wax-coated, succulent, and tomentose leaves. 

• Climate: It is mainly influenced by its remote inland position and prevalence of air of continental character, which is characterized by extreme summer heat alternating with great winter cold.

• Flora: Consists of Prosopis juliflora as the dominant exotic species and Diospyros montana as the dominant native species in the sanctuary.

• Fauna: Golden Jackals, Striped-Hyenas, Indian crested-Porcupines, Civets, Jungle Cats, Snakes, Monitor Lizards, Mongoose etc.