Times of
India: Gurgaon: Wednesday, June 26, 2019.
Green
activists are up in arms over the district administration’s nod to the Global
City project which, they allege, has been given without the necessary
environmental clearance and despite a legal notice. The Global City project,
being developed by the Haryana government near Sector 36B, is expected to have
residential and industrial zones, along with a large convention centre, and an
82-kilometre-long mass rapid transit system connecting Gurgaon-Manesar-Bawal.
It will serve as an important node to Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)
sub-region of the state. However, activists have expressed concern that it will
destroy two dense forests 1,002-acre wildlife habitat near Pataudi and a
600-acre forestland in Narnaul.
In
April, a group of activists had filed an RTI application demanding details of
the project and copies of the clearances.
After
the information was not given, a legal notice was served by them to the forest
department. They also wrote to the district administration.
“I
asked if the project requires any NOC, if the land falls under Aravali
notification or PLPA, if there is any water body or presence of wildlife in the
area. The department has not provided the information till date. Then a legal
notice was served since the project is planned in an eco-sensitive zone that is
home to wild species and birds,” said Vaishali Rana Chandra, who filed the RTI
application.
An
estimated wildlife count was conducted by the forest department and it was
found that the area has five animal species listed in schedule I and II of the
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, apart from 50 avian species. Leopards have also
been spotted here. The department came up with a plan under which Rs 6 crore
was sanctioned for preservation of wildlife habitat.
Colonel
(Retd) SS Oberoi, an environmentalist, fears the project will lead to
destruction of an important wildlife habitat in Gurgaon. He said, “This is a
violation of the Supreme Court 2011 judgment that states the National Forest
Policy should be followed. The authorities shouldn’t have planned the project
on an eco-sensitive zone. They have to take proper clearances stating how the
wildlife will move to and flourish in another area”
A
major part of land earmarked for the project in Pataudi is spread across
Gadoli, Khandsa, Mohammedpur and Narsinghpur villages, and is protected under
the Aravali notification 1992. Non-forest activity is prohibited here.
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