Save Aravalis, don't amend PLPA: Residents to minister

GURUGRAM: As the Haryana government is likely to move a bill in the assembly to amend the 118-year-old Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), the law that bars construction activity in large sections of the Aravalis, residents and a group of students from different schools in the city met state forest minister Rao Narbir Singh on Sunday and registered their protest against the amendment .

A group of around 70 people communicated to the minister that the Haryana government must act swiftly to stop destruction of Aravalis. They further said these amendments to PLPA will lead to air pollution and groundwater depletion.

The minister, according to the residents' group, tried to allay their fears, claiming that this amendment wouldn't lead to further degradation of the environment, although he wasn't able to give substantial reasons for amending the Act. All he said was that since it's dated 1900, the government had to amend it. "I'll definitely take this up with the CM on my next visit," Narbir has been quoted as saying. But with the amendment likely to be approved by the Cabinet next week, that option seemed unlikely. TOI tried to contact the minister but the phone calls went unanswered despite repeated attempts.