Experts concerned as draft plan doesn’t mention Aravalli range
NEW DELHI: A draft plan approved by the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) does not mention the Aravallis and tributaries of the Yamuna and Ganga in “natural zones”, triggering concerns among experts, who say that such a move will let states be selective about the areas they want to conserve.
Under the NCR Regional Plan 2021, which is in force since 2005, nearly the entire Aravalli range in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan is protected, with no construction allowed in the area.
While the Draft Regional Plan 2041 states that a “natural zone” is an area with features such as mountains, hills, rivers and water bodies, experts said that if implemented, it would leave out a large portion of the Arvallis from the protected zone. The draft plan was published by NCRPB on its website on December 9, with the board seeking public comments on it.
According to the draft, the “natural zones” will be identified by states using revenue records and the ground situation.
Chetan Agarwal, an environment analyst based in Gurugram, said that state governments have in the past tried to dilute the definition of the Aravallis. “Haryana has claimed that there are no Aravallis in Haryana records since 2016, but this was not accepted by the NCRPB earlier. In this context, the deletion of the ‘Aravallis’ from the definition of areas included in the Natural Conservation Zone in the new draft Regional Plan 2041 is troubling. This will have adverse implications for the air quality, groundwater recharge, forest cover and wildlife habitat in Delhi, Gurugram and Faridabad,” said Agarwal.
An NCRPB official, however, said: “We have clearly stated which natural features fall in the natural zones and we have asked states to identify and notify these areas. State governments are answerable to their people. How can they leave out some areas? This time, we haven’t relied on satellite imagery and haven’t conducted any ground truthing because it’s a very resource intensive exercise. We have instead asked states to conduct ground-truthing exercises. This is why we haven’t named any places.”
The current regional plan identifies the Aravalli ridge in Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, forest areas, Yamuna, Ganga, Kali, Hindon, Sahibi and major lakes such as Badkal, Suraj Kund and Damdama as protected zones, where construction is not allowed. These areas have been further detailed in the sub-regional and development plans.
The draft plan, however, does not name the areas and says mountains, hills, rivers, water bodies, forests notified under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, wildlife sanctuaries notified under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and eco-sensitive zones, wetlands and conservation under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 will be declared as “natural zones”. It also says that the extent of natural features under the zones will be identified. Experts say this will leave room for the states to be able to leave out large chunks from the conservation areas.
“The previous regional plan was very clear and detailed as far as natural conservation zones. Of course, this leaves much to interpretation by states... The 0.5% restriction on construction has been made toothless as the Aravalli areas to which it is applicable have been removed. The regional plan is a guiding document for sub-regional plans that states develop. But if the guiding document itself is diluted, then obviously states can dilute further,” said Rahul Choudhary, environmental lawyer.