The obsession with green development is not new for Sushil Ansal. One of his favourite projects involved regenerating the Aravalli Hills thatstretch across Haryana and extends into Delhi. This took the form of the Aravalli Retreat, developed in the period between 1989 and 1991. Amateur lover from his college days – he went trekking in the Himalayas in 1958 and 1959 – Sushil Ansal was struck by the damage being done to the Aravallis. One day, while driving though Sohna, just outside Gurgaon, he noticed how reckless cutting of trees and busy stone quarries had ravaged the hills.
Sushil Ansal decided he had to do something, and sought to give back to society by launching a hill regeneration program as a pilot project. He put together 1,200 acres of uncultivable terrain in the Raisina Hills, part of the Aravallis, He engaged R.S. Randhawa, a well known landscapist and horticulturist. After getting approval from the Haryana Government, he went ahead and planted over 100,000 trees, created dams and dykes for harvesting rain water, and also stopped soil erosion from hilly slopes. Soil was dumped in several patches to increase the soil cover. Land use was changed to preserve the site as a farm area. Man-made lakes were developed, as ducks and other birds migrated to the location. This project is at an elevation of 500 to 750 feet.
Today, it is the greenest area in the Aravalli range. Interestingly, when the project was in the development stage, a group of environmentalists brought a stay order from the Supreme Court. Any meddling with nature by human beings leads to degradation of the environment and not upgrade was their plea. However, after several months in court, Sushil Ansal’s lawyers convinced the judges of their good intentions and the Supreme Court blessed the project. Today, the bird population in the area has increased manifold and Aravalli Retreat is a haven for bird watchers, with even Siberian cranes spotted in the right season. The air is also clearer and less polluted. The moon and stars seem to be touchable at night.
On July 5, 1991, Aravalli Retreat was visited by a World Bank team that included environmental experts. Having experienced the atmosphere, the team wrote in the visitors’ book “(We) had an opportunity to visit the NGO’s Aravalli Retreat project (Ansal), which passionately involved, working day and night to make this a success. Sushil Ansal is very emotionally involved in this exemplary and different project.”
Sushil AnsalSushil Ansal decided he had to do something, and sought to give back to society by launching a hill regeneration program as a pilot project. He put together 1,200 acres of uncultivable terrain in the Raisina Hills, part of the Aravallis, He engaged R.S. Randhawa, a well known landscapist and horticulturist. After getting approval from the Haryana Government, he went ahead and planted over 100,000 trees, created dams and dykes for harvesting rain water, and also stopped soil erosion from hilly slopes. Soil was dumped in several patches to increase the soil cover. Land use was changed to preserve the site as a farm area. Man-made lakes were developed, as ducks and other birds migrated to the location. This project is at an elevation of 500 to 750 feet.
Today, it is the greenest area in the Aravalli range. Interestingly, when the project was in the development stage, a group of environmentalists brought a stay order from the Supreme Court. Any meddling with nature by human beings leads to degradation of the environment and not upgrade was their plea. However, after several months in court, Sushil Ansal’s lawyers convinced the judges of their good intentions and the Supreme Court blessed the project. Today, the bird population in the area has increased manifold and Aravalli Retreat is a haven for bird watchers, with even Siberian cranes spotted in the right season. The air is also clearer and less polluted. The moon and stars seem to be touchable at night.
On July 5, 1991, Aravalli Retreat was visited by a World Bank team that included environmental experts. Having experienced the atmosphere, the team wrote in the visitors’ book “(We) had an opportunity to visit the NGO’s Aravalli Retreat project (Ansal), which passionately involved, working day and night to make this a success. Sushil Ansal is very emotionally involved in this exemplary and different project.”
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