Villagers propose jungle safari park in Aravallis to increase tourism, save wildlife

Gurugram: The villagers of Kasan in Manesar have urged Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to consider the decision of opening a jungle safari park in Aravallis.

The request was made on his recent visit to Gurugram. In their plea, the villagers highlighted not only increase the tourism potential and provide job opportunities to the locals but save the wildlife of the region.

The vulnerabilities of the wildlife in the region were recently exposed after a leopard strayed from the forests of Manesar into the Maruti Suzuki factory.

On their part, the forest department has not committed to the proposal but have stated that its officials will assess the issue.

Earlier, there have been plans to introduce Gir lions in the Aravallis' forests though the grand plans has still not materialised. The last big initiative to protect the Aravallis region as well as well as make it a tourist destination was undertaken in the development of the Aravallis Biodiversity Park bordering Delhi.

The public private venture has resulted in huge gains of enhancing the dwindling green cover of the city.

For long, the decisions of the government with respect to have resulted in drawing heavy criticism from the environmental activists. The recent report by the Wildlife Institute of India revealed that in last 16 years, the productivity of Aravallis land have reduced to 5,495 square kilometres to 5,235 square kilometres.

The report also warns that if the trends of deterioration Aravallis trend continue, large parts of Aravallis will turn into a desert area.

In Gurugram, the greens have raised objections over massive tree felling along Gurugram- Faridabad road by the forest department. On their part the government agency has stated that this is an exercise to remove Kikar in Aravallis and replace them with other trees. Based on sources there are more than 5,000 trees that have already been cut along the area.

There are as many as 30 cases that are held up in various courts regarding illegal encroachment of Aravallis in Gurugram. There have also been reports of illegal mining still occurring in the area. There were also cases where incidents of tree felling reported from Aravallis in Gurugram because of the upcoming realty projects.