``It is a real tough situation. Merely building the canal that brought life sustaining water to those arid parts of Rajasthan was not the end of the job,'' he says. ``The waterway itself had to be protected against the shifting sands of the Thar desert,'' says Garg.

``For me and the team, the immediate objective was two fold: hold back the desert, make a dent in the major problem of effectively rehabilitating the mass of young men in the olive greens who complete their tenure every year,'' Garg says. The move proved successful, he points out.

Although the government wanted to have such units all over the country, financial constraints restricted them to just five such units. The accounts and reports available on theperformance of these units indicate that those units have also done well in Doon Valley, Pithorgarh, Jammu & Kashmir and the youngest 131 Bn Wasteland and Development Force will soon start its work in the ravines in the Chambal and Morena, Gwalior.

With a task of planting around five lakh trees in the Thar desert, the team went on with their job with sheer determination under the able guidance of Garg. The pride of place must go to the men and their leader Garg, who worked in Bikaner sector. They planted a little over one crore saplings, attained a survival rate of 100 per cent for those planted within the command area of the canal, 75 per cent for those put down at a distance from the water source.

There is a sense of pride exuded by the man who headed the 128 TA, before he gets talking about his work.

``Till date we have covered a vast area of 65 km of the Canal, initially it restricted the planting to 500 m of both banks but more recently has spread its activities wider, at places as far as 20 kmalong the distribution channels and lakes created by the main waterways,'' he explains.

``It was beyond comprehension that there would be huge jungles out there,'' Garg says, ``wild life abounds''. Peafowl, partridge, deer, nilgai and wild boar have regenerated. ``The lakes have begun to attract migratory birds in the winter months. And in the middle of the Thar desert we will have a bird sanctuary, which is likely to be developed as a tourist spot,'' he adds. At any given time we are taking care of around 15 lakh trees, he says.

``When these units were formed, eucalyptus trees were planted because it was fast growing and it was subsequently realised that the exotic trees was not ideally suited to the local ecology,'' he says.

``Now we put the eucalyptus plants along the canal itself, it prevents the formation of the swamps,'' Garg adds. The accent has shifted to the more local species: Khejri, rohinda, sheesham, kikar, ornamental plants and fruit trees like lemon, pomegranate and ber.

Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests funds almost 50 per cent of the programme. Clothing, ration, salaries, expenses towards vehicles, fuels is catered by them and anything pertaining to plantation, fencing, saplings, insecticides, engines, pipelines and fuel are provided by the local forest departments, he says. The funds have come from Japan under the OECF (overseas environment conservation funds), though after the sanctions were imposed in the aftermath of the Pokharan test, the funds have been stopped from Japan.

``Life is very hard in these deserts,'' says Garg. ``In summer the mercury soars into the 50s and in the winter nights, it drops to just about two degrees,'' he adds.

There is hardly any protection from the sun, by the time the trees his men have planted are tall enough to provide respite from the heat, the unit would have moved on.

And as if that is not enough, desert snakes and scorpions pose an additional hazard. The sandstorms are another ordeal. They result in the saplings being virtuallysmothered, his men are required to return to every young plant, clear away the sand.

And as if this was not enough, their tents were shred into pieces, thanks to the storm. Of late, they have opted to follow the local populace and build their own jhonpas.

During the monsoons, the thrust is on the saplings -- tending them, watering them at regular intervals is the order of the day.

The troops work for four hours in the morning then rest for a while when the sun is at its peak and then four hours when it is slightly better.

The battalion is embodied for eight months to a year, during which period the ex-serviceman recruited to the task force is paid roughly Rs 2,900 a month in addition to the pension he earned during his regular tenure, besides the other facilities that are provided.

And the irony of the situation is that the same very tasks are undertaken by local forest departments in other states and the success rate is dismal.

A Delhiite by birth, Garg has visions for the environment here andsays that anytime any corporate house or any other organisation seeks advice for improving the environment, he's willing to share his ideas free of cost.