With more than 29 per cent of its land qualified as “degraded”, India has pledged to restore nearly 50 lakh hectares of it to fertility in the next 10 years.

Reversing damage caused due to human actions like over-grazing, excessive use, water logging, over-drafting of groundwater, deforestation, urbanisation and tillage practices and factors like climate change and natural disasters will also help generate employment for 75 lakh people, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar today said.

Degraded land is land that has lost its natural productivity. A hectare of land has the potential to generate jobs for one-and-a-half persons, he said, underlining India’s resolve to take the lead to combat desertification across the World.

Desertification is a worldwide problem directly affecting 250 million people and one-third of the Earth’s land surface. “India will convert degraded land of nearly 50 lakh hectares to fertile land in next 10 years; it will implement provisions of New Delhi Declaration which is to be adopted at the end of conference and a Centre for Excellence will be established at Dehradun,” he said outlining the contours of the upcoming international conference which will be attended by more than 196 countries the 14th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

However, to a Tribune question on whether the Haryana government and the Centre were doing enough to combat desertification in Delhi’s very own backyard the Aravallis which protects the Delh-NCR from the desertification, he said: “On the last day you will have a wonderful programme for that also, you will get to know because before that we will have a big discussion. We are protecting Aravallis and we have to protect nature in all its forms.”

Aravallis form a natural barrier against dust and desertification and air pollution in Haryana, Delhi and beyond. The Haryana government is under attack from NGOs and Opposition parties over its alleged reluctance to protect the Aravallis the oldest range of ‘fold mountains’ in India also a rich source of biodiversity and ground water that has fallen prey to haphazard mining and urbanisation. Human actions have affected the natural drainage pattern in the range and it is also said that for Delhi-NCR to live, the Aravallis have to survive.

The minister also expressed India’s continued commitment to stay on track on a sustainable path to land use and land management. “It is our collective responsibility to do our duty towards protecting the environment and ensuring that there is no harmful impact on it,” he said, highlighting India’s key role as the President of UNCCD COP for the next two years.

“It is common resolve of the World to combat desertification and India will lead from the front and move the world in a positive direction, taking into cognizance the support of other countries,” he said.