Haryana to reassess Aravallis
GURGAON/NEW DELHI: Allaying fears that the Haryana government was diluting the character of the Aravallis, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said that the state government had ordered a “reassessment” of the forest area in the Aravalli belt.
The state had eased zoning restrictions on construction in the natural conservation zones (NCZ) i n 2013, but it was restrained from implementing it by the Union environment ministry and the PMO. Environmentalists allege that state government’s decision to keep a large area of Aravallis outside the NCZ has endangered the future of these hills, which account for a majority of the 3.7% forest cover in Haryana.
In a meeting of the NCR Planning Board (NCRPB) on Monday, the state government assured the regional planning panel that it would not change the ‘forest’ status of the hills. An official, who attended the meeting, said a committee will be set up to study the pros and cons of the reassessment before a final decision on the matter.
SHAMLI IN NCR
The National Capital Region (NCR) grew bigger on Monday with the inclusion of Shamli district in Uttar Pradesh.
The NCR Planning Board approved the inclusion of Shamli in its 37th board meeting on Monday. The move will give a boost to civic infrastructure in the district. But there is a caveat. For any financial assistance for the district, the state has to put the requisite sub regional plan in place. The board has set a March 2018 deadline for UP to expedite preparation of the sub-regional plans for the newly added district.
“The board also agreed that a delineation study needs to be carried out for further inclusion/ exclusion of districts to/from NCR and that states may expedite submission of their comments on broad parameters to be taken up for same,” a government release said.
The NCR is one of the largest national capital regions in the world — making up 1.6 % of India’s land area — covering 11 districts of Haryana, 7 in UP and 1 in Rajasthan.
In 2015, Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh and Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana were added to NCR.