Haryana Natural Resources
Rivers
Haryana has no perennial rivers. The important rivers are Yamuna,
the Saraswati and the Ghaggar. Several small streams which flow through
the state are the Markanda, the Sahibi and Indori. These rivers and
streams are main source of irrigation in the state.
The river Yamuna has its source in the hills at Kalesar and is the source of irrigation for large tracts in the districts of Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Hissar and Rohtak through the western Yamuna canals.
The Ghaggar rises in the outer Himalayan ranges between the Yamuna and the Sutlej. Ghaggar is its main seasonal river. It rises up in the outer Himalayas between the Yamuna and the Sutluj and enters Haryana near Pinjore, district Panchkula. Passing through Ambala and Hissar it reaches Bikaner in Rajasthan and runs a course of 290 miles before finally disintegrating in the deserts of Rajasthan.
Markanda
River is otherwise known as Aruna. A seasonal stream like the Ghaggar,
it originates from the lower Shivalik hills and enters Haryana near Ambala. During monsoons, this stream swells up into a furious torrent known for its devastating floods.
Forests
Haryana is an agriculture based state with a total geographical area
of 44,212 sq. km out of which 1,553 sq. km is under permanent forest
cover. Forestry activities in the state are dispersed over the rugged
Shivalik Hills in the North, Aravalli Hills in the South, sand dunes in
the South-West, other wastelands and water-logged, saline and alkaline
soils in the Central part of the State. Against the National Forest
Policy (1988) of maintaining forest cover over one-third of the area,
only 3.52% of the total geographical area in Haryana has been notified as forest area.
Haryana,
an intensively cultivated state but is deficient in natural forests.
Forests are mainly distributed in the Northern and South-Eastern districts
of the state. There are three forest types, the Tropical Dry Deciduous
in the Eastern part, Tropical Moist Deciduous in the Shivalik region and
Tropical Thorn Forests in the Western part of the State. Forests are
important source of income for rural poor and add little to the economy of the state.
Due
to large scale plantation initiated by Forest Department on non-forest
lands i.e. Community lands, Panchayat lands, Institutional lands,
private wastelands etc. as well as adoption of tree farming
by farmers on their holdings the total forest and tree cover of the
state has become 6.6%. The Forest Department has set a goal to bring 10%
of area under forest and tree cover by 2010.
Minerals
The state of Haryana is gifted with minor and major mineral resources. There are about 20 different kinds of minerals found in the state with a great percentage of the production including Limestone, marble, sulphur and Iron ore.