No plans to extend Aravalli corridor despite animal deaths
GURUGRAM: Despite repeated deaths of wild animals on Gurgaon-faridabad Road, which cuts through the Aravallis, the forest department does not have any plans to extend the region’s existing wildlife corridor. This was confirmed by the district forest officer(dfo) in response to an RTI application filed by city-based activists.
“There are no proposals being considered for the expansion of wildlife corridor in the eco-sensitive Aravallis,” read the RTI response, signed by Deepak Nanda, DFO, Gurugram. A copy of the response, which was received by environmentalists last week, is in possession of Hindustan Times.
Over the last four years, there have been at least three leopard deaths in the area due to speeding vehicles. In January, a 10-month-old female cub was found trampled to death on the road near Pali.
In 2015, an 8-month-old female cub was also found run over on this same stretch, soon after which a 12-year-old male was found dead on National Highway-48 in Manesar. In November 2018, a golden jackal was found dead after being hit by a speeding vehicle in Faridabad. The golden jackal is protected under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and there are only about 166 of these animals left in South Haryana, according to a survey by the Wildlife Institute of India. Environmentalists said that the state government’s refusal to extend the wildlife corridor in the Aravallis goes against the principles of environmental governance prescribed by the ministry of environment and forests (MOEF) in its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, 2006, as well as in a set of published guidelines titled, ‘Eco-friendly measures to mitigate impacts of linear infrastructure on wildlife.’
The MOEF’S EIA notification clearly states that project proponents undertaking infrastructure development shall “Prescribe measures such as corridors to mitigate adverse impacts on fauna.”
However, at the time when Gurugram-faridabad Road was being widened about 12 years ago, no consideration was given to the fact that the area is a hotspot for wildlife. “We raised many concerns at that time and campaigned for mitigating measures, such as creating underpasses for animals. None of our concerns were registered,” said RP Balwan, former chief conservator of forests, Gurugram.
Vaishali Rana Chandra, a n activist who filed the RTI, said, “It is surprising that environmental clearance was granted for widening Gurugram-faridabad Road from a two-lane to four-lane highway without making arrangements for wildlife.”
According to KK Yadav, former town planner, “The stretch of Aravallis in Haryana, which lies between Asola Bhatti in Delhi and Sariska in Rajasthan, is extremely prone to wildlife deaths because there are no steps taken to provide safe passage to wildlife.”
Vinod Kumar, additional chief conservator of forests, did not respond to requests for comment. Deepak Nanda, however, said, “The forest department does not plan to make any enhancements to the Aravalli wildlife corridor in or around Gurugram.”