RP-2041 can spell doom for Aravalis in Haryana, fear environmentalists
The Hindu
The legal protection of the range from environment degradation is under a cloud following some drastic changes in Draft Regional Plan-2041
Large chunks of forests and the Aravalis in Gurugram and Faridabad could lose protection from construction under the National Conservation Zone as defined in the Regional Plan-2021, if the provisions in the Draft Regional Plan-2041 are implemented, fear environmentalists, urban planners and analysts.
According to the DRP- 2041, the ‘Natural Zone’ (NZ) “is a zone comprising any natural features such as mountains, hills, rivers, water bodies created by the action of nature.” In the previous Plan, this was defined as the Natural Conservation Zone (NCZ). In the new draft, the definition ofthe natural features has been tweaked and restricted to only those that are notified under certain acts and recognised in land records.
Environmentalists are worried that this new definition would expel large sections of the forest land in Gurugram and Faridabad out of the ambit of protected zonefor not meeting the criteria proposed in DRP.
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