JDA fences unused plot in golf club compound

Jaipur: An unutilised plot of land measuring about three bighas (11,000 square metre) within the compound of Rambagh Golf Club (RGC) was on Sunday fenced by Jaipur Development Authority (JDA).
This plot was at the centre of a controversy after environmentalists alleged that JDA was allowing RGC officials to cut down trees indiscriminately on it for for expansion of the golf course. “We completed the fencing process on Sunday,” said a JDA engineer.
TOI had reported on March 30 about the felling of the trees, some of them very old, and the controversy around it. Urban development and housing (UDH) minister Shanti Dhariwal paid a visit to RGC on March 31 and ordered JDA officials to fence the unutilized land with immediate effect.
“Along with the 18-hole golf course, RGC has a utilized land of around three bighas. I had received complaints that RGC members are cutting down trees on this land. I had ordered JDA officials to put a fence around this land so that no one can cut any tree,” said Dhariwal.
A section of environmentalists, social activists and morning walkers had expressed outrage at the felling of trees and alleged that JDA officials had turned a blind eye towards the encroachment.
“The plot is a part of Central Park. The civic bodies had submitted an affidavit in the high court saying the plot would be utilized as public land and for plantation. We had brought the issue to JDA’s knowledge on several occasions. But no action was taken against the golf club. Our efforts to save greenery in the city have finally met with success,” said Yogesh Yadav, president of Central Park Bachao Sangharh Samiti (CPBSS).