Haryana clears bill that will lift Aravalli building restriction

NEWDELHI:The Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) amendment bill, 2019, passed by the Haryana assembly on Wednesday, will remove the legislative protection the Aravallis in Gurugram and Faridabad currently receive against real estate development, and mining and quarrying, in a move that environmental activists say will have huge consequences.

It also exposes large stretches of the Shivaliks in the north of Haryana to development and quarrying, further reducing forest cover in a state that already has the least, 3.59%, in the country.

The changes in the law will also have major implications for Delhi, which is already battling severe air pollution. The Aravallis in south Haryana act as a barrier against dust intrusion from Rajasthan and a large groundwater recharge zone for the entire National Capital Region (NCR) centred on Delhi.

Section 3 (A) of the act states that provisions of PLPA will not apply to land included in the final development plans of urban areas — the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority Act, Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority Act 2018, the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act 1994, and other such.

Under section 4 and 5 of PLPA before its amendment, the felling of trees, quarrying, and cultivation or breaking up of land was prohibited in areas listed under PLPA. The legislation was initially enacted to save the Aravallis and Shivaliks from soil erosion.

But following the amendment on Wednesday, all of these areas, including some 38 villages and 17,000 acres of Aravalli land in Gurugram, and 17 villages and 10,450 acres of the Aravallis in

Faridabad, will be exposed to quarrying and real estate development. About 10,000 acres of the Shivaliks in Panchkula will also lose protection.

Another change means that the Haryana government will now have the power to amend or rescind any notification or order made under the provisions of the Act, giving it the power to exempt certain areas from the ambit of the Act if it has caused undue hardship to some people in the area.