A large number of people, including students and environmentalists, turned up at Khushboo Chowk on Gurugram-Faridabad Road on Sunday to protest against the proposed amendments toPunjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) by the Haryana government during the ongoing budget session.
The protesters expressed their amazement at the government tabling a Bill that had not been shared with the public and whose implications had not been properly explained.
Forest analyst Chetan Agarwal painted a chilling picture of the implications of the proposed amendments to the PLPA, which though not yet formally shared by the government, have been in circulation.
“The amendments proposed are far-reaching that it is a virutal repeal of the Act. The proposed amendments seek blanket provisions that exclude the PLPA from applying to urban areas and gives the government the power to unilaterally restrict the application of the Act to any area it wishes to. The amendments are sought to be made with retrospective effect from 1966 thereby nullifying the protections made under the act since then. The amendment subverts the directives of the Supreme Court to protect the Aravallis at any cost and to treat the PLPA areas as forests. Instead, the entire Aravallis will be open for real estate development, mining, and any activity the State fancies,” he said.
Ecologist Vijay Dhasmana said Aravalli forests were the golden goose that gives us the ecological benefits of clean air and fresh groundwater. Aravalli forests act as green lungs for the NCR. The Aravallis are also critical for recharging our groundwater, which is depleting at the rate of 5 feet per year in Gurugram alone — extraction of groundwater in this region is 300% more than the recharge, he said
The group shouted slogans like ‘Clean Air and Water is My Right’, ‘No Aravalli, No Vote’, ‘Builder – Neta Nexus – Hai Hai’, and ‘Stop PLPA Amendment’.
“Haryana needs to re-notify all the expired PLPA notifications and extend the law to other unprotected hilly areas rather than try and dilute the provisions of the act. The act is 119 years ago and has served us well. What is the hurry to amend it in such a rush without examination and review”, said Lt. Col (Rtd) Sarvadaman Singh Oberoi.