Can't Afford Another Paradise Lost
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HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEW DELHI 04 | metro | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2012 delhi first BATTLE FOR A GREENER CITY FIRST OF THREE PARTS Is the Capital fighting a lost battle? Its green YOUR FEEDBACK areas, water bodies and the Yamuna have talktous onfacebook ontwitter WILL BE SHOW- Have you witnessed Delhi’s green cover Visit facebook.com/hindustantimes Tweet your views been at the receiving end of encroachments gradually vanish over the years? Write to to send in your opinions. You can and suggestions CASED IN A SPECIAL and pollution. It is time for some action. us at [email protected] also log on to hindustantimes.com @htTweets RESPONSE CORNER River Yamuna UP North West North Delhi Delhi North DELHI East HARYANA Delhi West Delhi East Delhi Central South Delhi West South Delhi HARYANA RIDGE AREA NORTHERN RIDGE Bara Hindu Rao Rajpur Road CENTRAL RIDGE SP Marg Rajinder Nagar Pusa Road SOUTHERN RIDGE Bhatti mines Chattarpur Tuglakabad Asola Vasant Kunj JNU Rajokri Aya Nagar ■ Last refuge: One of the few green patches left of the southern Can’t afford another Paradise Lost ridge area. THE UNAVOIDABLE LOAD Encroachments — legal as well as illegal — on the ridge forest have stripped the Capital of its green cover. And the destruction continues COST OF DEVELOPMENT The Capital’s ridge area was destroyed for the development Nivedita Khandekar casestudy of the city bit by bit over the last century and a half ■ [email protected] THE CHRONOLOGY OF DESTRUCTION NEW DELHI: The Ridge — Delhi's green One more 1857: Flagstaff Tower built as 1960s-70s: Delhi Development lungs — is the northernmost extension large British contingents, artillery Authority (DDA) starts cutting out of the Aravali mountain range, consid- road, trees et al camped at the northern ridge colonies such as Vasant Kunj from ered one of the oldest geographical fea- during the revolt of 1857 southern ridge tures in the country. But it has hardly received the attention it deserves. be damned 1880s-90s: Starting with St 1960s-70s: Jawaharlal Nehru It is 2.5 billion years old, much older Stephen’s (1881) and Hindu University (JNU) comes up on the than the Ganges and the Himalayas, MAHIPALPUR ROAD-NATIONAL College (1899), slowly and steadily southern ridge Delhi University expanded on large which are kids in comparison -- mere- HIGHWAY 8 ROAD 1970s: Four prominent schools parts of the northern ridge to 16 ly 600 million years old. Simply put, if come up near the western face of faculties, 86 academic depart- the Himalayas are nine years old, then It has been two years since a road to central ridge near Rajinder Nagar the Aravalis are 90 years old. join the Mahipalpur-Vasant Kunj ments and 77 colleges 1980s: New Delhi Municipal Traditionally for Delhi, the ridge — road with National Highway 8 has Pre-1900: Paharganj, literally hilly Council widened Shankar Road on spread over northern, central, south been under construction. ■ The road for the village cuts right through the ridge. HT PHOTOS BY SANJEEV VERMA neighbourhood, came up cutting central ridge large number of central and southern area — was the The existing Mahipalpur road is across portions of the central trees cut ahead of Asian Games western extreme. However, over the too narrow to accommodate the over by the government for the road. the almost 4-km road remains due to ridge last 100 years, as the population increase in vehicular traffic coming The road is flanked by the village on land acquisition issue." 1980s-90s: Rashtrapati Bhavan 1921-1931: Chunks of Lutyen’s increased exponentially, the ridge fell from Mehrauli and Gurgaon and one side and an army area on the The question is: Is the road really Polo Ground comes up right in the Delhi were carved out from central to development. headed towards Dwarka and the south," said Colonel Devender necessary? "Already, there is lot of middle of the central ridge, talks and southern ridge areas It started with chunks of what today Delhi airport. Sehrawat, a Mahipalpur resident. construction in the area in total viola- about relocating hanging, it again is the central ridge being drawn for the The solution? Build another road, a The hitch is that land for the road tion of the Master Plan provisions. 1950s: Refugee colonies such as resumed Rajinder Nagar, Karol Bagh and new capital city by the British after 1912. bypass for the village. In this case, the does not fall into the 'notified' area of While the DDA has gone ahead and 1990s: Buddha Jayanti Park in cen- Patel Nagar came up on the cen- As city planners merrily continue existing road has been widened. But the ridge, though Mahipalpur village engaged in senseless construction, tral ridge created on the occasion tral ridge with further destruction (see graphic), the fact that the road passes through sits very much on the ridge. the army has carried out a lot of of 2500th anniversary of Buddha’s environmentalists cry hoarse about the ridge is completely ignored. Dinesh Sehravat, a youth from the work,” said Diwan Singh of Ridge 1960s: Home Ministry sets up enlightenment tearing of the green lungs. A case in "It was a gram sabha land, taken village, said, "Just half a kilometre of Bachao Andolan. wireless station on central ridge point is the long 2000s: Plush malls such as legal battle that 1960s: Rabindra Rangshala, a Emporio and DLF came up on the TOMORROW activists fought to large open air theatre was con- southern ridge near Vasant Kunj SAVING THE RIDGE structed by Rabindra Nath save the southern 2010s: Delhi Metro’s Airport Metro How the banks of Yamuna Tagore Centenary Committee on ridge, which the Express Line tears through the were once where Delhiites central ridge planners had ear- central ridge would come to spend time, marked for 13 inter- fly kites, etc. Today, what national star hotels. CLEAR DEMARCATION OF RIDGE IS THE FIRST STEP, SAY EXPERTS DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE RIDGE remains is just stink. This portion of the ridge, spread Nivedita Khandekar "The toothless Ridge Management RIDGE APPROX AREA*COVERAGE** over Vasant Kunj ■ [email protected] Board needs to be given powers to PATH TO CONSERVATION and Mahipalpur, totalled 640 hectares punish violators and encroachers," Northern Ridge Forest 87 1.13% — 315ha belong to the DDA and 325ha NEW DELHI: Experts feel that all is not said environmentalist Pradip Krishen. ■ Identify and showcase the Central Ridge Forest 864 11.10% to the Army — much of which has been lost and that there are several steps Manoj Misra, a former forest offi- northernmost tip of the ridge South-Central Ridge Forest 626 8.05% concretised. This despite the fact that one can still take to save the ridge. cer, had a different take. "No effort ■ Define, demarcate bound- Southern Ridge Fores 6,200 79.72% the Central Ground Water Board has Sustainable land use, putting a stop has been made to identify the north- aries with modern techniques advocated the ridge as a potential on the destruction of the habitat and ern most tip of the ridge, part of the ■ Give powers to the Ridge Total 7,777 100% ground water recharge medium. increasing forest cover as a carbon oldest physical structure. It can be Management Board to *Approx area (in Ha),**Proportion of different demarcated/reconciled parts of ridge Pradip Krishen, an active votary of sink (an area that absorbs carbon- marketed for educational and tourism penalise encroachers trees, pointed out an instance of the dioxide; e.g. forests, oceans, etc.) are purposes." ■ Declare entire ridge as a army's activities at the ridge. some of the steps that can be taken The ridge comprises mostly National Park MULTIPLICITY OF LEFT TO DRY "There is this President Bodyguards' to save Delhi's ridge area. quartzite rocks, exposed in several ■ Involve community, especial- AGENCIES AT WORK Polo ground right in the middle of the "But before anything, a survey areas due to quarrying over the years. ly youth, in ridge conservation Rivulets/water channels central ridge. They also have a club needs to be done for clear demarca- There needs to be a revaluation of Northern Ridge (87 Ha): Delhi emerging out of the ridge house there. The area for the polo tion and notification of the ridge," management of such natural Development Authority (DDA), and reaching Yamuna: ground plus the clubhouse has been said Diwan Singh of the Ridge Bachao resources. Singh suggested active Technologies', JNU’s Madan Mohan North Delhi Municipal Corporation given to them on lease long ago. But Andolan. involvement of citizens, especially suggested declaring the ridge area and Forest Department At the turn of the 20th cen- they treat the entire central ridge as While the Delhi Development youth, for conservation efforts. as a national park under the Wildlife tury, there were as many as Central Ridge (864 Ha): Forest their own," he said. Authority has already taken a posi- In one of his research papers Protection Act, 1972. He also sug- 18 streams and rivers Department, Army (Signal Ravi Agrawal of Toxics Link, an envi- tive step by developing the 'Aravali 'Climate Change: Evaluation of gested using modern survey tech- emerging from the ridge ronmental organisation, said, "The Biodiversity Park', experts feel much Ecological Restoration of Delhi Ridge niques such as Remote Sensing and Regiment), DDA, CPWD, NDMC, Ministry of Home Affairs, North and flowing eastward norms are quite well laid out. The DDA, remains to be done. Using Remote Sensing and GIS GIS for demarcation and notification. towards the Yamuna. army or whatever agency, they have to Delhi Municipal Corporation, put their increasing land requirement Railways and Land & Development Except for a few such as Officer Kushak Nullah and aside.