A 92-acre land along the Yamuna Expressway adjoining Delhi is set to be turned into a forest area with the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration roping in private partners for a massive afforestation programme, according to officials.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the administration, Haldiram Education Society (HES) and Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL) on Wednesday for this, the officials said.

According to the pact, HES has collaborated with the administration for mass afforestation and rainwater harvesting activities in the 92 acre-area in Jewar which has been offered by JIL.

The land where the activities will take place was allotted to JIL by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), which manages development work along the 165-km-long highway.

While private parties have chipped in for the effort as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) plans, the district administration will provide them with all necessary permission and approvals for the afforestation, according to the MoU.

HES, according to the pact, will plant and maintain native species of trees suitable to the soil and environmental conditions on the provided land.

"It will also document the overall change to the best possible extent through quantitative and qualitative data and report it to district administration in a periodic manner," it stated.

Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar is also the site for an upcoming international greenfield airport for which vast tracts of farm land has been acquired by the government.