The history of Jaipur goes back to 1150 A.D. when Amber was wrested from Meena chief of Susawat clan by the Kakil Dev, son of the Dhula Rai of Dausa. Dhula Rai was Kachhawa Rajput belonging to Gwalior Royal family. He was first Kachhawa Prince who entered in Rajasthan. He married Morani, Sister of Prithviraj Chauhan (the last chivalrous Hindu King of Delhi). Ralhansi (Father of Morani) was the only Chauhan Rajput Chief in this area. The Badgujars (Other powerful family of this area) treated him with disregard and he felt that his position was not secure. In order to seek the support of a powerful chief he offered the hand of his daughter to Dhula Rai and gave him a part of his chiefship with half of the town of Dausa. Lateron Dhula Rai took Possession of the other half of Dausa held by the Badgujar chief. Thus the town of Dausa became the capital of the Kachhawas. Dhula Rai’s son Kakil Dev, who succeeded his father and took Amber and its fort from Rao Bhutto, who had descended from Susawat Meena family. ADMINISTRATION In the district, there are seven sub-divisions namely Jaipur (first), Jaipur (second), Jaipur east, Jaipur south, Kotputali, Sambhar and Amber and thirteen tehsils. Sub division Name of Tehsil I. Jaipur (first) 1. Jaipur II. Jaipur (second) 1. Sanganer III. Jaipur (east) 1. Bassi IV. Jaipur (south) 1. Chaksu V. Amber 1. Amber 2. Jamwa Ramgarh 3. Chaomu VI. Kotputali 1. Kotputali 2. Shahpura 3. Virat Nagar VII. Sambhar 1. Phulera 2. Phagi 3. Dudu CLIMATE A. Rainfall : Jaipur district has a dry climate except during the south-west monsoon season. The average annual rainfall in the district is 556.4 mm. In the Amber-Jaipur region the rainfall is a little higher than the surrounding parts of the district. The rainfall during the period June to September constitutes nearly 90 per cent while a small percentage fall during the months of December to January. B. Temperature : The Jaipur summers are scorching beginnings almost during mid march and ending with monsoon rains. The mean daily maximum temperature in may is 40.6°C and mean daily minimum is 25.8°C. In May and June the maximum temperature may sometimes go up to 48.0°C. After mid-November both day and night temperature drop rapidly till January which is the coldest month with the daily mean maximum temperature at 22.0°C and minimum at 8.3°C. C. Humidity : During the monsoon season the relative humidity is generally over 60% and in the summers is minimum as 15 to 20%. In the rest of the year the air is dry. D. Winds : Winds are generally light to moderate but in summer and the early south-west monsoon season, winds may strengthen on some days, south westerly winds prevail in the south-west monsoon season. HILLS Although Aravalli hill range does not pass through Jaipur but the hills of Jaipur distinct members of the North Aravalli ranges. The range on the north-eastern side belongs to the Alwar hills while those in the east belong to the Lalsot hills. The main peaks in the district are Manoharpura (747 m), Jaigarh (648 m) etc. SOIL The soil is poor in humus with organic carbon content less than 0.2 percent. Its water retaining capacity is very poor. Four types of soil are found in Jaipur area. 1. Loamy Soil : It has low moisture content with normal fertility and found in majority in this area. 2. Clay Soil : This type of soil is blackish, greyish or dark brown in colour, having medium to heavy texture. The soil is less porous but highly fertile with almost balanced macro and micro-nutrients. It is found in Ramgarh area. 3. Sandy Soil : Sandy soil is very porous but not suitable for general type of vegetation. The colour varies from brown to grey and texture from fine to medium. It is found in Dudu and Phulera areas. 4. Sandy-loam Soil : This soil is semi-porous and fertile, it is generally yellowish brown with deep or light texture. RIVER SYSTEM The main rivers and tributaries in the Jaipur district are: • Banas – Banas originate in Udaipur Aravalli area and flow for about 160 Km. near the borders of Jaipur district. • Banganga –Banganga river originates in the hill of Bairath tehsil and flow about 164 Km of Jaipur district. • Bandi – Bandi originates from hill near Samod in Jaipur District. • Mashi –Mashi river, a tributary of Banas originates from Ajmer district. • Morel –Main tributary of morel river is Dhund. It traverses in Chaksu tehsil before joining morel river near village Hingonia. • Sabi –Sabi river originates in Neem-Ka-Thana tehsil. It enters Jaipur district in Viratnagar. MINERAL RESOURCES Chief mineral resource in Jaipur district are china clay, copper, dolumite, iron, lime stone, silica sand and soap stone. VEGETATION The vegetation of the area has been classified as “scrub jungle”. Plants which can either adapt themselves to high temperatures or to low temperatures and discouraging conditions of soil and rainfall can be found. The trees are commonly lacking, shrubs are the dominant perennials, most of which form thickets e.g. Crotalaria burhia, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Saricostoma pauciflorum and Zizyphus nummularia. This perhaps is the reason for a very low percentage of tree species. The vegetation can be classified on the basis of habitats viz. 1. Vegetation of sandy areas 2. Weeds and escapes of cultivation 3. Vegetation on hilly tracts 4. Plants of aquatic habitats. 1. Vegetation of Sandy areas The vast sandy tracts which are distributed in the western and central plains of the district, from the dunes to the plains. The dunes are gradually stabilised due to the growth of sand binders like Calotropis procera, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Aerva tomentosa, Saccharum bengalense, etc. they provide suitable habitat for the growth of some annual grasses e.g. species of Cenchrus, Eragrostis, Aristida, etc., plants like Convolvulus, species of Heliotropium, Indigofera, Tephrosia and perennials like Crotalaria medicaginea and Shurbs like Acacia jacquemontii. If the biotic influence is not allowed to play its devastating role, luxuriance of these species is seen. Moreover, plants like Lepidagathis trinervis, Pulicaria angustifolia along with many others like Cassia tora, Dicoma tomentosa, etc. appear. In such cases the annual herbs form the carpet flora and amongst them the common components are plants like Pupalia, Achyranthes aspera, species of Tephrosia, Indigofera, Portulaca, Justicia, Phyllanthus, Aristida and Commelina. The following tree species also found in the sandy areas – Prosopis cineraria, Balanites aegyptiaca, Zizyphus mauritiana, Ailanthus excelsa, Tecomella undulata, Acacia nilotica var. indica and Holoptelea integrifolia. In the sandy areas Cistanche tubulosa, species of Orobanche and Striga are the most common parasites. Cuscuta spp. are the common total stem parasites. 2. Weeds & Escapes of cultivation Amongst the weeds that occur in the winter crop, the most common ones are prostrate herbs viz. Portulaca meridiana, Malva parviflora, Fumaria indica, and Veronica agrestis. Of the tiny and slender herbs, the most common ones are : Plantago pumila. Stellaria medica, Oldenlandia pumila, Asphodelus tenuifolius is a common geophytic herb. Xanthium strumarium, Argemone mexicana, Pulicaria angustifolia, Acanthospermum hispidium, and Digera muricata are some of those weeds which occur gregariously and can thus be troublesome to some extent. Some of the species which occur exclusively in the rainy season e.g. Cleome gynandra, Sesbania sesban, Tribulus terrestris, Sesamum indicum, Mollugo cerviana, Trianthema Portulacastrum, Aristida spp. Eleusine spp. and Cynodon dactylon. 3. Vegetation on hilly tracts Majority of hills in Jaipur are almost barren. However Hills in the Amber region have Anoegissus pendula, Boswellia serrata and Sterculia urens along with Butea monosperma Their permanent vegetation comprises of Euphorbia neriifolia clumps, which support some seasonal annual vegetation during rains. These hills mostly comprise of denuded rocks. Some grasses like Aristida spp., Oropetium thomaeum grow and cover these hills during rainy season. A large majority to the trees in the area are restricted to the hills. Sterculia urens, Commiphora wightii, Anogeissus pendula, Boswellia serrata, Lannea coromandelica, Rhus mysorensis, Adina cordifolia, Diospyros melanoxylon, Wrightia tinctoria, Cassia fistula,. Aegle marmelos. Cordia gharaf and Ficus racemosa occur naturally on the hills but have probably been introduced in other areas. Some other species like Grewia tenax, Butea monosperma and Acacia senegal are restricted to the bases of the hills. These hills change their colour to green due to presence of leaves during rains and look ash coloured in rest of the year, due to the dominant species Anogeissus pendula which is a deciduous small tree of the hill tops. Some of the Shurbs of common occurrence are : Grewia damine, Melhania hamiltoniana, Plumbago zeylanica, and Lantana indica. The herbaceous flora of the general surface of the hills is rich during rains and is composed mainly of small herbs. Some of the prostrate herbs growing during this period are Triumfetta rhomboidea, Boerhavia diffusa, Lepidagathis trinervis, Cassia pumila, Indigofera cordifolia, Tephrosia pauciflora, T. strigosa etc. Some of the erect form are Crotalaria triquetra, Cassia absus, Bidens biternata, Solanum indicum, Dicoma tomentosa, Achyranthes aspera, Acalypha ciliata etc. Urginea indica is a common geophyte which can be identified by its leaves during rainy season and by its copper coloured scapes and flowers during the spring season. 4. Plants of aquatic habitats Jaipur division is devoid of any permanent streams and rivers. There are seasonal rivers where water may stay beyond the rainy season in some deep ditches. Therefore a permanent aquatic vegetation is absent except in some deep ditches inside the area of the reservoir. As usual, the aquatic vegetation is free floating, submerged, anchored on marginal belts and of the plants on the banks that are liable to submersion. Free floating and submerged vegetation consists of members of the family Hydrocharitaceae viz. Vallisneria spiralis Hydrilla verticillata, and Naian graminea. Species of Lemna and wolffia often form a scum on water and in places devoid of nitrogenous matter, Utricularia aurea is also seen at some places. Plants growing on marshy banks commonly grow in the marsh but are often submerged under water. The common ones of these are: Aeschynomene indica, Polygonum glabrum, Typha elephantina, Scirus roylei, Arundo donax, Imperata cylindrica and other like the twinner Oxystelma esculentum commonly seen on, Typha spp., Phoenix sylvestris is the arborescent species of such courses.