'New land survey set to cut area of natural green zones to 40%'
'New land survey set to cut area of natural green zones to 40%'
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GURGAON:
The ground-truthing exercise that is being carried out by the
department of town and country planning (DTCP) is set to bring the area
of natural conservation zones (NCZ) down to 40% of their current
expanse, a senior state-level official in the forest department revealed
on Thursday.
The total area of the natural conservation zones in the NCR (national capital region) is spread across 2.5 lakh hectares and is expected to be brought down to nearly one lakh hectares by the time the entire exercise is finished, the official said on condition of anonymity.
What is worrisome is the fact that the area of Aravalis is spread over nearly one lakh hectares, which means that there will be no NCZ areas barring the pristine hill ranges.
"Asking the DTCP to map the green areas is unfair. They are only bothered about the urban development of the region and not about saving the green areas," said Amina Shervani, an environment activist.
Another environmentalist, Vivek Kamboj, who founded the NGO, Haryana Welfare Society, said, "When there is an existing forest or a natural conservation zone then why should the area be developed? This might only lead to a financial loss that can be compensated but the environmental loss will never be recouped."
In a bid to dismiss the apprehension of the environmentalists, Raghvendra Rao, the additional chief secretary of the directorate of town and country planning, said, "It's incorrect to predict whether we will increase or decrease the number of NCZs because such an exercise is being done for the first time".
He said, "We had completed the field visits before April 10 and currently we are cross checking the images with those of the revenue records of 1999 and 2005 and the jamabandhi that was done before 2005 so that their (NCZs') actual status in the official records can be mapped. It's after this we will decide whether, say, a river shown in the satellite image is still a river on ground or not."
Deputy commissioner T L Satyprakash, who heads the district-level committee that has been entrusted with the task of mapping the NCZ areas said, "At times the areas that seem green in the satellite images don't qualify to be NCZ. For instance, the global city planned by the HSIIDC seemed quite green but when we visited the area, we only found shrubs there," said Satyaprakash. He said, "I am in charge of development as well the environment. Through ground-truthing we are trying to maintain a balance between the two." Ground-truthing is the physical verification of natural conservation zones on the ground.It is noteworthy to mention that the erstwhile deputy commissioner (DC) Shekhar Vidyarthi had dismissed an interim report of town and country planning department in a meeting held on October 13 last year because it suggested only 10 per cent of NCZs to be retained after ground truthing.
Which is why, the DC had issued orders on the same day to physically verify the sites with the help of district revenue officer and patwari as the matter of NCZ was "highly sensitive".
The interim report had suggested that only 20 sites should be added as NCZ after ground truthing while the total number of sites according to the regional plan 2021 and revised regional plan 2021 stood at 196.
The total area of the natural conservation zones in the NCR (national capital region) is spread across 2.5 lakh hectares and is expected to be brought down to nearly one lakh hectares by the time the entire exercise is finished, the official said on condition of anonymity.
What is worrisome is the fact that the area of Aravalis is spread over nearly one lakh hectares, which means that there will be no NCZ areas barring the pristine hill ranges.
"Asking the DTCP to map the green areas is unfair. They are only bothered about the urban development of the region and not about saving the green areas," said Amina Shervani, an environment activist.
Another environmentalist, Vivek Kamboj, who founded the NGO, Haryana Welfare Society, said, "When there is an existing forest or a natural conservation zone then why should the area be developed? This might only lead to a financial loss that can be compensated but the environmental loss will never be recouped."
In a bid to dismiss the apprehension of the environmentalists, Raghvendra Rao, the additional chief secretary of the directorate of town and country planning, said, "It's incorrect to predict whether we will increase or decrease the number of NCZs because such an exercise is being done for the first time".
He said, "We had completed the field visits before April 10 and currently we are cross checking the images with those of the revenue records of 1999 and 2005 and the jamabandhi that was done before 2005 so that their (NCZs') actual status in the official records can be mapped. It's after this we will decide whether, say, a river shown in the satellite image is still a river on ground or not."
Deputy commissioner T L Satyprakash, who heads the district-level committee that has been entrusted with the task of mapping the NCZ areas said, "At times the areas that seem green in the satellite images don't qualify to be NCZ. For instance, the global city planned by the HSIIDC seemed quite green but when we visited the area, we only found shrubs there," said Satyaprakash. He said, "I am in charge of development as well the environment. Through ground-truthing we are trying to maintain a balance between the two." Ground-truthing is the physical verification of natural conservation zones on the ground.It is noteworthy to mention that the erstwhile deputy commissioner (DC) Shekhar Vidyarthi had dismissed an interim report of town and country planning department in a meeting held on October 13 last year because it suggested only 10 per cent of NCZs to be retained after ground truthing.
Which is why, the DC had issued orders on the same day to physically verify the sites with the help of district revenue officer and patwari as the matter of NCZ was "highly sensitive".
The interim report had suggested that only 20 sites should be added as NCZ after ground truthing while the total number of sites according to the regional plan 2021 and revised regional plan 2021 stood at 196.
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