In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the environmentalists and ecologists, along with several civil society members across Haryana have come with a ‘green manifesto’ raising various pressing issues such as air pollution, waste management, depleting ground water level, and the need to protect the Aravalis. They have sought the inclusion of their demands into the manifestoes of various political parties for the upcoming Assembly election.
Holding a press conference, Neelam Ahluwalia, founder member, People for Aravallis group, who initiated the process of creating the ‘Haryana Green Manifesto 2024’, said the document was a critical response to the escalating environmental crisis in the State, which had the lowest forest cover in India, a mere 3.6% as compared to the national average of 21% and had the dubious distinction of having eight of the 50 most polluted places in the world.
“In May and June this year, we experienced extreme heat wave conditions, with temperatures touching 50 degrees Celsius. Unsegregated, mixed waste is dumped everywhere creating toxic landfills across Haryana with no regard to its negative impact on our natural ecosystems, surface water bodies and groundwater aquifers,” Ms. Ahluwalia said.
The document has been prepared after consultation with experts and rural and urban stakeholders in 17 out of 22 districts covering 77% of Haryana over the past four months, she claimed.
To protect the essential ecosystem services provided by the Aravallis and Shivaliks for Haryana, the main demand in the ‘Green Manifesto 2024’ is to legally designate the Aravallis including the Bhood areas and the Shivaliks as ‘Critical Ecological Zones’. The ‘Green Manifesto 2024’ also demands legislating a ‘Tree Act’ for Haryana on the line of the strict Delhi Preservation of Trees Act 1994, providing legal protection to all the Open Natural Ecosystems of the State like the Blackbuck habitat in Fatehabad and an action plan to reach a target of 10% native forest and tree cover in four years.
Chirag, a resident of Rajawas village in Mahendergarh, at the press conference, said that ground water levels had fallen to 1,500-2,000 feet in many villages in South Haryana. Samim, a resident of Nuh, claimed that cattle in his village and peacocks living in the Aravalis were dying drinking the industrial waste water that flows out of the chemical waste in Bhiwadi and the villagers were suffering from skin diseases and breathing ailments.
Published - September 04, 2024 10:06 pm IST
