GURUGRAM: Portions of the perimeter fence of the Aravali Biodiversity Park have been broken and a part of Gurugram's treasured 392-acre preserve of green is now under the siege of construction waste that has been dumped within the protected area, in mounds and along the creeks that spring to life during monsoon but dry up in summer.
Parts of the fence have been taken down near the DLF-3 area of the park to allow movement of vehicles that bring in the construction debris. The natural creeks, currently dried up, are choked with waste. If left without intervention, these will turn into passages of water carrying muddy waste in the soon-to-arrive rainy season.
Residents living in the vicinity said they have been regularly seeing tractor-trolleys move in and out of the area and alleged there seemed to be an organised effort to encroach a section of the park near its northern boundary, spanning two acres.
"We have been observing the movement of tractors, autorickshaws, motorcycles and trucks inside the park since the last six months. Fences too have been broken to dump construction waste in the green area. We have complained to several agencies regarding the encroachment," said Rohan Singh, a 45-year-old resident of DLF-3.
Another resident was worried about the environmental effects of encroachment. "We have so little Aravalis left and the authorities are still failing to protect the small patch of land," said Sunny, who also lives in DLF-3, which is adjacent to the park. Others demanded that the two access points to the park towards Nathupur in the north of the park should be closed.
Declared a protected area in 2010, the park has semi-arid vegetation with around 400 native plants, over 1 lakh trees and more than 180 bird species. It is a vital green lung for the city and a key source of groundwater recharge. In February this year, the park was the first site in India to be tagged by the Union ministry of environment as an 'Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures', which recognises conservation efforts in regions that fall outside the official scope of protected forests. Once tagged, it enters the database of the United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
Hero MotoCorp, which signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) last year to look after the park till 2031, said it was aware of the activities near the boundary wall and had alerted the MCG. Remedial steps were also being planned, it said, adding that the company will build a 1km-long boundary wall to deter encroachers from entering the park.
"A week ago, MCG had also dug a 15 feet-ditch at the border of the park to stop vehicles from crossing and dumping illegal construction waste. But within four days, the ditch was filled with debris and we were back to square one. After an inspection, we repaired the fences but the violators are damaging them with tractor-trolleys. Now, we are planning to build a boundary wall on the Nathupur side of the park till the temple at the corner of DLF-3. We will complete it within a month's time," Sharad Bajpai, the project manager for the park, said.
Civic officials too said they will intervene. "We have identified around 2 acres of land where we are going to install fences and gates to scuttle access," said Subhash Yadav, nodal officer of the MCG's environment wing.
"Most of the area of the park has boundaries, but if there is illegal dumping of construction and demolition waste going on in the area of the biodiversity park, then we will definitely get it checked and action will be initiated," said Nishant Yadav, the deputy commissioner of Gurugram.
On Thursday, environmentalists stressed the need to protect the Aravali Biodiversity Park, which took a decade to be restored from an erstwhile mining pit even as a city grew along it. "It has been a role model for other biodiversity parks... The state government should take all measures to protect the area and its biodiversity," said Vijay Dhasmana, the curator of the park.
