Haryana can possibly lose as much as 30% forest cover in the Natural Conservation Zone (NCZ) if the proposed plan of the state government to lift the ban on construction in the zone gets sanctioned.

The NCZ (The Natural Conservation Zone) is an area where construction has tight restrictions. It is categorised under two heads — ‘confirmed’ NCZ and ‘yet to be decided’ NCZ. While the former has 51,000 hectares of forestland in its cover, the latter spreads across 11,500 hectares. The plan, if approved, could pose a grave risk to over 11,000 hectares of forest land in Gurugram and Faridabad which are yet to be incorporated in the ‘yet to be decided’ NCZ category.

The National Capital Region Planning Board(NCRPB) is supposed to hold a special meeting, to discuss and resolve the issues related to finalisation of the definition of 'forest' and what constitutes the 'Aravali hills'. The outcome of the meeting is likely to put an end to debates on areas which comes under Aravali, and may initiate fresh demarcation of the Natural Conservation Zone (NCZ) in the region. Aravali hills are present in Gurgaon, Mewat, Faridabad, Rewari, Mahendragarh and Bhiwani districts of Haryana. If NCRPB approves the government's suggestion, it will initiate fresh demarcation of NCZ in these districts, which should lead to significant increase in NCZ areas.

As of now a total of about 1 lakh hectares of land is classified under Aravali in Southern Haryana. over 25,000 hectares are marked as 'forest' under Section 4 and 5 of Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA). Around 62,000 hectares are classified as NCZ while another 12,800 hectors have been put in the 'yet to be decided' category. It is the uncertainty over the status of the 'yet to be decided' land that is leading to environmental degradation of the Aravalis.

 "Currently, Haryana has kept large areas of the Aravalis outside NCZ, under an arbitrary 'status to be decided' category. All these will have to be put under 'confirmed NCZ' category. Also, areas that meet the NCZ definition, but were left out, should get included," said environmental analyst Chetan Agrawal.

Of all the states, Haryana which has the second lowest forest cover after Punjab, is yet to officially define forests as per the dictionary meaning which the Supreme Court has directed it to do. The region has, of late, seen large-scale and indiscriminate felling of trees, especially in the forested areas. This has put the region at risk of losing a significant portion of its tree cover. 

Keeping large area of Aravali under 'confirmed' NCZ can keep it safe from being exploited.

Last week Delhi High Court asked a pharma major to plant 1.4 lakh trees in the central Aravali Ridge area of the city after finding it guilty of Contempt for defying a court mandated settlement. The Green Punishment is an appreciable step taken by Delhi High Court.

A major change and revolution can be brought if all authorities genuinely take serious actions and pledge to make all decisions in favour of saving the environment.

It’s a plea to all the decision making authorities to keep Aravali in the 'confirmed' NCZ cataegory.

#save trees#save environment#save yourself#