Citizens do a symbolic chipko in the aravallis to protest against the regressive ncr draft plan 2041
New Delhi August 23 dmanewsdesk: The Aravalli Forest in Gurugram today saw the residents of the city descend upon it to express their love and solidarity towards their lifeline which seems all set to be wiped out by the ill-conceived NCR Draft Regional Plan 2041. A group of more than 30 men, women and children hugged the trees that stand guard against the desert winds and play a critical role in purifying the toxic air that millions of people living in India’s National Capital Region breathe all year round.
“Delhi-NCR is one of the most polluted and water stressed regions in India. As the impacts of global warming and climate change intensify, this region will get more negatively impacted. Our natural ecosystems like the Aravallis are our only shield that can protect us from the climate crisis looming on our heads. We as citizens are organising protests every weekend in August and September to mark our objections to the NCR Draft Plan 2041 removing terms like ‘Aravallis’, ‘Forests’, ‘Natural Conservation Zone’ from its ambit? Aravallis with their natural cracks and fissures have the potential to put 2 million litres of water per hectare in the ground every year and thus act as a critical water recharge zone for the water starved National Capital Region where the extraction is 300% more than the recharge and ground water levels are dangerously low. Without the Aravallis, life in Delhi-NCR cannot exist”, said Anuradha Prasad Dhawan from the Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement which has launched a campaign asking the government authorities to remove the environmental and ecological dilutions in the new NCR plan and revise it such that it does not take away protection to more than 70 percent of the Aravallis and other natural ecosystems like waterbodies, tributaries of rivers etc in the 25 districts of India’s National Capital Region spread across the 4 states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
During their hike, people disbursed seed bombs of native Aravalli species to show their solidarity with the forest and mark their objection to the fact that the NCR Draft Plan 2041 has dropped the target, ‘total forest cover proposed to be 10% of the total area of the region’ present in the currently in force NCR Regional Plan 2021. “Area under forests has declined from 4.02% reported in NCR Regional Plan 2021 to 3.27% in the new Draft Plan 2041.This is very disturbing when climate action demands an exponential increase in afforestation efforts by the government. To mark our love for our forests, today we dispersed seeds of Ber, Dhau, Khejri, Amaltas and Desi Kikar which are drought resistant and native to the arid Aravallis so chances of their germination and survival are high. Some animals like the jackals eat them and the seeds get dispersed in far off areas through their droppings. As these trees will grow, they will help prevent soil erosion other than giving us oxygen and be home to countless life forms,” said Alka Saran, Founder of Earth Supporters Trust who started seed bombing in the Aravallis 5 years ago.
“I have done so many hikes in the Aravallis and seen jackals, peacocks, owls, monitor lizards, snakes, different kids of butterflies, moths and beautiful bugs. These hills and forests surrounding Delhi-NCR are a critical wildlife habitat & corridor and a biodiversity hotspot with 400+ species of native trees, shrubs, grasses and herbs; 200+ native & migratory bird species, 100+ butterfly species, 20+ reptile species and 20+ mammal species including leopards, neelgais, hyenas, civet cats, monkeys etc. Where will all this wildlife go if the NCR Draft Plan 2041 gets finalised? Each and every resident of Delhi-NCR must stand up for the forest & its creatures and send this email asking the government to strengthen the new NCR plan ( https://www.letindiabreathe.in/v2/AravalliBachao ),” said Sameexa Sud, a college student and member of the Students 4 Aravallis team.
Source: Aravalli Bachaon Citizens Movement
