Kiran Choudhry, Leader of the Haryana Congress Legislature Party, has flayed the Forest Department order on Aravalis as anti- ecology and environment, a clean and total surrender to the powerful lobby of builders by the BJP Government, and asked the Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal, to rescind it forthwith in the interest of the people of the state.In a statement issued here today, the former excise and taxation minister said that the order which made an unwanted and inexplicable reversal of its earlier order, posed a fresh threat to the fragile eco-system of the Aravalis.
In its latest order, the department has directed officials not to designate lands in the range as forests, other than those formally recorded as such.
“This implies that the vast tracts of forests, including most parts of the sacred Mangar Bani grove, will be not be recorded as ‘forest'. It is a complete, unwanted and inexplicable reversal of the March order under which ordered recording the entire Aravali range as forest while carrying out ground surveys for natural conservation zones (NCZs) in the NCR”, Ms Choudhry said.
The order puts paid to the massive effort made by the Congress Government to protect and conserve the green cover which is fast depleting in the state. “As Forest Minister, I had got the buffer zone notified in 2010 after great efforts. It was done to desist deforestation and promote conservation of ecologically sensitive areas.” she said.One direct spin-off of the order would mean that commercial activities on vast tracts of forests, including the sacred Mangar Bani grove, prohibited earlier, would resume and embolden builders and lobbyists to clear the forests in the coming years. “The BJP Government should rescind the order in the interest of ecology and the people of the state,” Ms Choudhry demanded.