Draft RP-2041 incomplete, inconsistent: environmentalists
The Hindu
They raise objection to exclusion of terms ‘Aravallis’ and ‘forest areas’ from Natural Conservation Zone
A five-member group, comprising a retired Indian Forest Service official, an urban planner and an environment analyst, among others, has offered objections to the Draft Regional Plan-2041. They have expressed apprehensions that the proposed plan would “drastically reduce the forest cover, degrade wildlife habitat, increase air pollution and open the floodgates of indiscriminate real estate in the Aravallis”.
The National Capital Region Planning Board had sought objections and suggestions to the Draft RP-2041 from public till January 7.
Raising a dozen objections to the plan from the perspective of regional land use, conservation and forests, the group has strongly opposed to exclusion of the terms “Aravalli” and “forest areas” from the Natural Conservation Zone (NCZ). “The Aravallis were an integral part of the NCZ in the current Regional Plan-2021. The term ‘Aravallis’ has been deleted from the Draft RP-2041, leaving them open to unlimited real estate construction. Similarly, the phrase “forest areas” has been deleted from the NCZ also. This will drastically reduce the forest cover that is eligible for NCZ zoning protection,” said the group.