Ggn: Residents protest plan to build road in biodiversity park

GURUGRAM: Thousands of residents from Gurugram and even Delhi congregated at the Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Gurugram to protect their green lung. A petition has also been signed by the participants, which will be submitted to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

As per NHAI officials, their project would require a 1.5-km stretch of the biodiversity park with a width of about 30 meters to build the expressway bypass and there would be no service road.

Based on the information provided, the two link roads are from Ambience Mall to Aya Nagar on Gurgaon-mehrauli road (NH 236) and another from Vasant Kunj to Ayanagar on Gurgaon-mehrauli road (NH 236) on NHAI’S website. Both the roads are part of a plan to decongest Delhi. The project is likely to start in February or March next year.

The decision by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to build a road through the park has not gone well with the residents and most of them have openly expressed their differences over the issue. Subsequently, there are now plans that the government may defer its move of building the bypass.

“Gurugram is a classic example of mindless urbanisation which is destroying the city. The decision to build the bypass destroying the vast swathes of greenery comes at a time when the health of the citizens is deteriorating with the poisonous air. We cannot allow such a move to take place,” said Ajay Gulati, a city resident who participated in the project.

There were also demands to accord the forest status to the 300-acre park.

The delay by the public authorities in declaring Aravalli biodiversity park as a forest may result in being damaged as NHAI plans to build a bypass using it.

Technically, it is still a Gair Mumkin Pahad which allows the authorities to use the area for the development. The ‘Gair Mumkin Pahar’ can be described as a wasteland which cannot be held, occupied or used for agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, and poultry farming, among others.