Scrap ‘Aravalli Safari Park’ project, it’s violative of forest laws, demands expert

Chandigarh: The proposed ‘Aravalli Safari Park’ to be built on 10,000 acres of land in the Aravalli Hills of Gurugram and Nuh districts has once again come under controversy with the Haryana Forest Department replying to a representation against the park by environmentalists Vaishali Rana and others that they haven’t floated any tender in this regard.

In a representation to Haryana’s Chief Secretary, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Managing Director, Haryana Tourism Corporation and Secretary, Ministry of Forests, Environment and Climate Change in the Government of India, the environmentalists Vaishali Rana have said that since the land on which the proposed project is to come up is covered under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the tenders floated by the government should be immediately withdrawn.

“The Haryana Tourism Corporation, with the intention of setting up a Safari Park over a proposed site of approx. area of 10,000 acres in the Aravalli hills region of Gurugram and Nuh had opened a tender to all expert agencies with expertise in building similar facilities worldwide, to take part in an ‘International Design Competition for Development of the Aravalli Safari Park’.

“The said project is proposed to have habitat components such as hotels, restaurants, guest houses, open-air theatres, auditoriums, aquarium, cable car, building blocks, public/visitor’s infrastructure facility, animal care centre; service infrastructure to cater to animal habitats; recreational infrastructure such as children parks, open-air theatre, activity space, eateries, etc.; safari club; entertainment parks and others.

“The said project also aims to be established in the contiguous patch of land having degraded green cover. Moreover, the area where the safari project is proposed is part of the Aravalli hill range and protected under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980,” said the representation.

“The Tender notice for the proposed safari park is illegal and required to be withdrawn as the activities proposed will not only damage the flora and fauna of the region but also is violative of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980,” the representation further adds.

Speaking to Millennium Post, Vaishali Rana said that the location proposed for the Safari Park project falls under the category of ‘forest’ as recorded in the land records and also in the details of the land given in the ‘Expression of Interest’ circulated by Haryana Tourism Development Corporation. These areas will also be forest as per several orders and directions passed by the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in a plethora of judgements and hence, would be protected under Sec 2 of the FCA.

Section 2 restricts any State Government to dereserve forests or the use of forest land or any portion of it for non-forest purpose without prior approval of the Central Government. Therefore, according to the Supreme Court judgement titled In Re: TN. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India & Ors., Writ Petition (C) No.202/1995, it was held that the term ‘forest’ includes all statutorily recognized forests, whether designated as reserved, protected or otherwise for the purpose of Sec 2(i) of the FCA.

Further, it stated that the term ‘forest’ is to be understood in the dictionary meaning and also include any area recorded as a forest in the government record to be considered ‘forest’ irrespective of ownership as per the interpretation of Sec 2 under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.