CHANDIGARH: Environmentalists in Haryana, which has the nation’s poorest forest cover, oppose the recently introduced Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023 and call for its withdrawal because they believe it will allow commercialization and development of real estate on 50,000 acres of Aravalli greens since these forests have not yet been designated as “deemed forests,” according to a statement from the Aravalli Bachao movement to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on May 18.
According to the Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas-2021, which was published by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), 8.2% of the total land area of the Haryana state had degraded and grown drier by 2018–19. According to experts, the degradation of the Aravalli hills and the reduction in forest cover are to blame for the state of Haryana’s desertification.
While only 3.62 per cent of Haryana is covered in forests, only approximately 2 per cent of that area is really legally protected. Therefore, if passed as written, the FCA Amendment Bill 2023 will hasten the rate of desertification and be devastating for the state of Haryana’s forests, air quality, water security, people, and wildlife, according to Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement.
“In our submission to the Joint Parliamentary Committee regarding this amendment bill, we have stated that in the case of Haryana, with the lowest forest cover in the country and cities with the highest air pollution and water stress, FCA Amendment Bill 2023 will open up 50,000 acres of Aravalli forests for real estate development and commercialization since these forests have not yet been protected,” said Neelam Ahluwalia, its co-founder.
“The SC has repeatedly directed Haryana to identify forests as per dictionary meaning in Godavarman (1996) and Lafarge (2011) judgments but the government has failed to carry out this exercise,” she added.
It is believed that 39,063 hectares of forests are covered by sacred groves throughout India, said Dr Ghazala Shahabuddin, an ecologist who works on biodiversity conservation in the country.
The FCA Amendment Bill’s new section 1A sub-section 1 will destroy such places, notably Manger Bani, and open the door for non-native people to utilise these abundant, biodiverse ecosystems for non-forest activities.