Two new Ramsar sites — Khijadiya wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat and Bakhira wildlife sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh — were announced on the occasion of World Wetlands Day at Sultanpur national park in Gurgaon Wednesday. Forest and Wildlife Department officials said India has a network of 49 such sites, the highest in South Asia, covering 10,93,636 hectares.
The Union Environment Ministry had notified the Sultanpur National Park and Bhindawas wildlife sanctuary in Jhajjar as Ramsar sites — the first two such sites in Haryana — in August 2021. Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance as per UNESCO’s 1971 Convention on Wetlands held in Ramsar, Iran. Officials said the certification brings visibility to ecologically sensitive wetlands and helps in conservation.
Speaking at the programme on World Wetlands Day at Sultanpur National Park, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that the state will initiate an ecotourism policy focusing on homestays to promote tourism in villages around the two Ramsar sites of Haryana. Khattar said, “Every year, 50,000 birds of more than 100 species migrate to Sultanpur. Similarly, 40,000 birds of more than 80 species come to Bhindawas every year. More than 100 home species of birds are found in Bhindawas. We can leverage this to promote tourism.”
Stating that all the ponds of the state will be rejuvenated by removing dirt, he said, “The Haryana pond and wastewater management authority have been constituted for this purpose. Earlier, siltation took place in ponds and the clay layer was removed to stop overflowing and groundwater was recharged. Out of a total of 18,000 ponds, there are over 6,000 in the state which overflow during the rains at present. In the next two years, 4,400 of these ponds will be cleaned.”
Khattar hailed the Union Budget for focusing on the promotion of organic farming as compared to chemical-based farming, which he said had caused several problems.
Exhorting people to take a resolution to not interfere with nature, he said, “Sometimes in the name of development, we lead nature towards destruction. In Haryana, trees are considered a life-giving force. The State Government is giving an annual pension of Rs 2500 to the family or institution taking care of trees that have completed 75 years. Haryana is the only state where pension for trees is being given.”
CM also said that they were hopeful that a digital university comes up in Haryana considering the strides the state had made in terms of digitization of records and in executing tasks online.
Officials said that the Aravalli Biodiversity Park, located at Delhi-Gurgaon border, has been declared as India’s first other effective area-based conservation measures’ (OECM) site. The proposal to declare Aravalli Biodiversity Park as an OECM site was by the National Biodiversity Authority to IUCN in December 2020. The tag designates the area as a biodiversity hot spot on the global map.
Problem of waterlogging in Najafgarh will be resolved in 6 months: Environment Minister
The chief guest at the event, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, said the problem of waterlogging in the Najafgarh drain will be resolved in six months. “CM has apprised me about the problem of waterlogging in Najafgarh and suggested that a drain should be dug for proper water drainage. The Environment Department has constituted a scientific committee comprising officials of Haryana government, Delhi government, CPCB and Ministry of Environment, which will study the issue and find a solution. The committee will plan and execute the same in next six months,” said Yadav, adding that ecotourism will bring employment and development in the villages around Sultanpur Lake.
“It is a matter of pride that out of 52 national tiger conservation forests, 14 have received international accreditation and that two Ramsar sites are from Haryana,” added Yadav.
“As per the recent report, our forest cover has increased. Over 4.5 percent of the area is wetland and only one-third of it is in forest and two third is outside the forest area. Forty per cent of biodiversity comes from the wetland. So, it is imperative to conserve wetlands,” he said.
He said in future as the population of urban cities like Gurgaon grows, the people living in buildings in these areas would struggle to find peace in green spaces such as these sites.
BJP will form government in UP, Uttarakhand; to play lead role in Punjab: CM
On the upcoming assembly elections in northern states, the chief minister said that he campaigned in Uttarakhand and his party colleagues have been campaigning in UP and from everywhere, their reports suggest that “BJP will be forming the government again in both the States.”
“Especially in Punjab, the party is confident of a good show and is moving towards playing a lead role. It is possible that after allying with some people, we will form the government there too,” said Khattar.
On elections in Manipur, where BJP is contesting on all 60 seats, Bhupender Yadav, said, “From the atmosphere I witnessed in the state, I can say that BJP will form the government with two-third majority in Manipur.”
Kanwar Pal, Haryana Forest and Education Minister, and Union Minister of State for Forest and Environment, Ashwini Choubey, also attended the programme.
At Sultanpur National Park, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced the state will initiate an ecotourism policy. 
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