GURUGRAM: Amid controversy over the status of the 65-acre land in
Sehrawan where the Kherki Daula
toll plaza is proposed to be relocated, it has come to light that the district development and panchayat officer’s (
DDPO) application seeking change of land use (
CLU) for the site makes no mention of it being in a protected or sensitive zone.
TOI has found that the application clearly states the project does not require a clearance under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The DDPO had applied for the CLU from the central government under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, on February 25. The application is presently under examination.
Gurugram DDPO Narender Sarwan, said, “The project is necessary as the existing toll plaza on NH-8 at Kherki Daula has become a traffic bottleneck, and there’s no scope of expanding it. The toll plaza has to be shifted to a location where more counters can be opened.”
He added, “We have applied for CLU, but till now, we haven’t received any response.”
Ram Avtar Yadav, former sarpanch of Manesar who has filed a petition in NGT against the proposed toll plaza, said, “The DDPO’s application is false. How can this land not be protected? There are 30,000 trees, some of which are 200 years old, as well as indigenous animals in this area.”
A letter dated March 6, 2018, and addressed to divisional forest officer (wildlife), Gurugram, which records the findings of a wildlife officer, states that the land is a critical wildlife habitat and falls within the Aravali forests.
“The area is a key habitat for various wildlife species listed under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, including leopards and hyenas,” said Yadav.
The online application for CLU is made to the central government, which has to send it to the forest advisory committee. It then has to reach Chandigarh and Delhi, from where it will be sent to the Gurugram forest department.
“The department has not received any such application,” said Deepak Nanda, district forest officer, Gurugram. City forest department officials said it would take 4-5 months to give the ‘forest clearance’. “Our staff will check whether it’s forest land first,” added Nanda.
