Haryana: The Haryana Forest Department has launched a statewide initiative to identify, document, and digitally map sacred groves across the state, marking the first structured effort to create a consolidated record of these ecologically and culturally significant forest patches, officials said on Saturday. The exercise is aimed at strengthening biodiversity conservation while integrating traditional community-based protection systems into formal environmental planning.
The drive is being implemented across districts, including Gurugram and other regions of Haryana, where field teams have begun surveying villages with the support of local communities. Sacred groves are small forest areas traditionally preserved due to religious beliefs and cultural practices, often associated with local deities and protected by communities through customary restrictions on cutting trees or altering land use.
Officials said the exercise will produce a statewide digital database of sacred groves, recording details such as geographical coordinates, land area, vegetation type, and cultural significance. This data will be used to support forest management decisions and help integrate these sites into broader conservation frameworks.
The forest department said a key objective is to address the lack of official records for many of these groves, which often exist only in oral traditions and local knowledge systems. By systematically mapping them, authorities aim to ensure that these ecologically sensitive areas are recognised in planning and protected from degradation or encroachment.
Environmental experts describe sacred groves as important biodiversity micro-reserves, often supporting native plant species, birds, insects, and small wildlife. Studies on Haryana’s forest landscape have highlighted that such groves contribute to soil stability, groundwater recharge, and local ecosystem resilience, especially in regions facing rapid urbanisation and shrinking green cover.
The initiative comes at a time when Haryana, particularly the Gurugram–Aravalli belt, is experiencing growing pressure from infrastructure expansion and land-use change. Environmental concerns have increased over the fragmentation of natural habitats and the loss of remaining forest patches in peri-urban areas.
Officials said that after identification, each sacred grove will be assessed for its ecological condition and conservation priority. Sites found to be degraded or under threat may be considered for restoration measures or additional protection depending on their environmental value and community importance.
Community participation has been identified as a central part of the exercise. Many sacred groves continue to be maintained through informal traditional systems of protection, and forest officials are working with villagers, panchayats, and local groups to document historical information and verify site locations.
Preliminary academic studies suggest that Haryana contains a significant number of sacred groves distributed across multiple districts, though many remain unrecorded in government databases. Research in western Haryana has identified over 100 such groves, indicating their ecological and cultural relevance across rural landscapes.
Officials said the findings from the mapping drive will be compiled into a detailed report after field verification. The report is expected to support future policy decisions related to forest conservation, land-use regulation, biodiversity protection, and integration of traditional ecological knowledge into environmental governance.
The initiative is part of Haryana’s broader environmental strategy to improve green cover monitoring and promote community-linked conservation models for protecting ecologically sensitive areas.
