Gurgaon: Urging the BJP-JJP government to withdraw amendments to the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900, a group of environmentalists and a former chief town planner on Monday wrote to deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, saying changes to the 118-year-old legislation would threaten the life-supporting ecosystem of the Aravalis in NCR.
KK Yadav, former chief town planner, Haryana, said, “We request to direct the department of forest and wildlife to rejuvenate all water bodies… We are witnessing an unprecedented rise in air and water pollution, overall heat islands in cities, desertification, depletion of underground water, loss of groundwater bodies and squeeze in wildlife habitats. This is more visible in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Palwal, Mewat, Mahindergarh and Bhiwani.”
Yadav blamed the real estate boom, unplanned urbanisation and over-exploitation of natural resources for this environmental degradation. Activists said that the government should prepare a corridor for free movement of wildlife in the Aravalis, to be linked with Rajasthan’s Sariska sanctuary. They also demanded that an eco-sensitive zone be identified in the Aravalis. The government, added the activists, must also notify Mangar Bani and other areas as deemed forests and bring them under the protection of the law.
“As per the orders of the Supreme Court, Aravalis have been declared as forests and a natural conservation zone. Government must define and demarcate such zones,” said Vivek Kamboj from Haryali, an NGO.
The activists plan to launch a protest on March 1 to press their demands.
In the run-up to the 2019 state assembly polls, parties had been united in their opposition to the BJP government’s amendment of the PLPA, which lifted the legal cover protecting the Aravali and Shivalik hills. Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), now BJP’s coalition partner, had also declared in its manifesto that it would work towards protecting the environment and forest areas.
KK Yadav, former chief town planner, Haryana, said, “We request to direct the department of forest and wildlife to rejuvenate all water bodies… We are witnessing an unprecedented rise in air and water pollution, overall heat islands in cities, desertification, depletion of underground water, loss of groundwater bodies and squeeze in wildlife habitats. This is more visible in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Palwal, Mewat, Mahindergarh and Bhiwani.”
Yadav blamed the real estate boom, unplanned urbanisation and over-exploitation of natural resources for this environmental degradation. Activists said that the government should prepare a corridor for free movement of wildlife in the Aravalis, to be linked with Rajasthan’s Sariska sanctuary. They also demanded that an eco-sensitive zone be identified in the Aravalis. The government, added the activists, must also notify Mangar Bani and other areas as deemed forests and bring them under the protection of the law.
“As per the orders of the Supreme Court, Aravalis have been declared as forests and a natural conservation zone. Government must define and demarcate such zones,” said Vivek Kamboj from Haryali, an NGO.
The activists plan to launch a protest on March 1 to press their demands.
In the run-up to the 2019 state assembly polls, parties had been united in their opposition to the BJP government’s amendment of the PLPA, which lifted the legal cover protecting the Aravali and Shivalik hills. Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), now BJP’s coalition partner, had also declared in its manifesto that it would work towards protecting the environment and forest areas.
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