CM scans Aravallis, officials cite grim figures

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, June 7

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar took stock of the ground situation of the Aravalli green forest cover in the NCR at a special meeting held at Surajkund here today. He also had an aerial survey of the region.

Amid the reports of controversy generated after the present policy of the state government regarding the conservation of the Aravalli green belt, the CM chaired the meeting where a presentation was made before him by forest officials.

Besides Rakesh Gupta, CM’s Additional Principal Secretary, Amit Agarwal, TL Satya Prakash and Ashok Sangwan, the Deputy Commissioners of Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat, respectively, attended the meeting convened at Surajkund.

Though the authorities concerned claimed it was a general presentation, sources claimed the meeting focused on getting first hand information after reports emanating in the media, criticising the policy regarding the alleged lack of seriousness of the state government to ensure conservation of the green forest cover in the NCR.

The NCR Planning Board has asked the state government to address the environmental concerns raised by various quarters in the state’s sub-regional plan after reports of large-scale construction activities in the Aravalli belt, including the Mangarbani forest falling in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Mewat districts.

The state has agreed to demarcate Mangarbani grove as no-construction zone and limit the construction in the National Conservation Zone to 0.5 per cent. In April, the Ministry of Environment and Forest had written to the NCR Planning Board, where it was mentioned that Uttar Pradesh and Haryana must increase its forest cover. The ministry had suggested Uttar Pradesh to increase green zones by 500 per cent and Haryana by 400 per cent.

The ministry had highlighted the point that the NCR was faring badly in comparison to the national average on the matter of forest covers. While the national average was 21.05 per cent, in the NCR it was only 6.2 per cent. Over 32,769 hectares of green areas and 1,464 hectares of water bodies were lost during the period between 1999-2012, it added.