Gairatpur Bas gets Gurgaon’s first Namo Van with 10,000 saplings

The forest department has planted 10,000 saplings across a one-hectare site at Gairatpur Bas, calling it Gurgaon’s first Namo Van.

The site was inaugurated on Friday during the 77th district-level Van Mahotsav, held under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign. Gairatpur Bas lies within the Aravali landscape, one of Gurgaon’s key remaining natural green zones.

Raj Kumar, chief conservator of forests for south Haryana, said a second one-hectare Namo Van is planned in Manesar. Forest and environment minister Rao Narbir Singh said the Aravalis are an important natural asset and that tackling NCR pollution requires public participation alongside government action.

Gurgaon had 279.5 sq km of forest cover in the Forest Survey of India’s 2023 assessment, or 8.9% of its geographical area. Of this, 200.8 sq km was classified as open forest and 78.7 sq km as moderately dense forest; none was listed as very dense forest.

The planned Manesar Namo Van will also cover one hectare, Kumar said.