ARAVALLI BACHAO

Missing the Forest for the Trees

 

It's absolutely ridiculous. Our own elected representatives are axing down our trees and digging our graves. At a mere 3.59%, Haryana has the poorest forest cover in the country. The only jungles we have left are made of concrete. The Aravali forest is our lifeline, and yet here we are, biting the very hand that feeds us.

 

With skyrocketing pollution levels and a plummeting water table, we're gasping for breath every day. And yet, under the state government's proposed amendment to the Punjab Land Preservation Act, over 60,000 acres of green area will be stripped of legal protection. This move would open up large parts of the Aravallis for construction, essentially inviting real estate developers to bulldoze over one-third of the state’s green area. As all of Gurgaon falls under the master plan, our city will lose 100% of its remaining forests, securing the final nail in its coffin.

 

This isn’t “development”, but severe short-sightedness. We’re biting the very hand that feeds us - the consequences of which are already coming back to bite us. Unless we put an immediate stop to this, it’s only a matter of time before we’re past the point of no return.