Authorities will require nearly 25 acres of the park for the road project meant to decongest parts of National Highway-8.
A 380-acre green lung that was built from scratch with the efforts of citizens and is home to 400 tree species and 182 species of birds will be left fragmented by the first phase of the proposed Gurgaon-Manesar Expressway. The jungle is also home to jackals and reptiles.
I am Gurgaon, a citizen group, had collaborated with the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon to create the Aravalli Biodiversity Park in stone quarries with funds raised through corporates and other sections of the society. But it is under threat from the carriageway project.
Authorities will require nearly 25 acres of the park for the road project meant to decongest parts of National Highway-8. The alignment of the road has been finalised, said reliable sources from the National Highway Authority of India, the implementing authority.
The massive park is considered a deemed forest but is yet to be officially declared as a 'forest'.
As per a Supreme Court order of 1996, a forest is to be understood in the dictionary sense irrespective of its ownership status.
When asked about the need for an environmental clearance for using land from the park, NHAI sources said that a detailed project report was being prepared and necessary applications would be made. The government agency, though, is yet to assess the number of trees that would have to be felled for the project.
Vijay Dhasmana, a curator at the Aravalli Biodiversity Park and chief ecologist of 'I am Gurgaon', said that the superhighway, if built, will fragment the park and have a detrimental impact due to the construction and vehicular emissions. "The plan being proposed is similar to the AIIMS road loop. It is a birding hotspot, huge water recharge zone and was built from scratch by citizens after a Supreme Court order shut the quarries," Dhasmana said.
Last year, birders also spotted the Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin for the first time in the biodiversity park and the migratory birds were spotted once again this monsoon, in August.
BIRD WATCHING
Birders have spotted the Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin for the first time in the biodiversity park and the migratory birds were spotted once again this monsoon, in August
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