Mangarbani
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Mangarbani blocks desert storms
The Times of India, Dec 13 2015
BagishJha
Mangarbani blocks desert storms from all of NCR
The damage to the Aravalis' fragile ecosystem can wreak havoc on not only Gurgaon but the whole of NCR as `desert storms' can come back to haunt Delhi apart from reviving the threat of desertification of northern and central India, according to environmentalists. They say the noise about controlling vehicular movement to contain SPM levels is drowning out the importance of shrubs, herbs and grasses in absorbing dust particles. Amid the country-wide concern about increasing pollution, especially the SPM level in the air, the Haryana government has granted permission for construction in natural conservation zones of the Aravalis without considering its environmental impact. Vijay Dasmana, environmentalist and biodiversity expert, said the Aravalis and Mangar act as a barrier for desertification in northern and central India, including Delhi.“IfMangar and the Aravalis are gone, then a `desert storm' is bound to hit NCR,“ said Dasmana, adding that trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses of Mangar and Aravalis absorb dust particles, hold moisture and bring rain. Desertification of the area will begin if this greenery is removed. Highlighting the importance of Mangar and Aravalis for checking pollution, Dasmana said despite numerous encroachments and constant attempts to destroy forest cover ¬Mangar and Aravalis act as a big carbon shrink [sink]. “They reduce temperature, absorb dust and purify air,“Dasmana said. JitendraBhadana of Save Aravali said it was the only green zone in NCR. “During 1940s and 1950s, Delhi used to witness desert storms and to contain that PM Jawaharlal Nehru was involved in dropping a large number of Keekar seeds in the region from a helicopter.
Mangarbani, protection
As a forest and "no construction" zone
The Times of India, Feb 04 2016
Bagish Jha & Dipak Dash
Mangar now a no-go zone for realtors
The Haryana government has approved the forest department's exercise outlining nearly 2,000 acres in and around Mangarbani that must be protected. This paves the way for Mangarbani, located in the Faridabad Aravalis, to be declared a forest and its precincts a “no-construction“ zone. The government now needs to formalise this through a notification to puts fears of Mangarbani's exploitation to rest once and for all.
The forest department's exercise was carried out at the behest of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Last June, the CM had himself taken a chopper to survey Mangar and had vowed to protect this ecological treasure. The forest department has proposed that 670 acres of Mangar be demarcated as the main grove and another 1,300 acres as its buffer area.
Soon after coming to power, the BJP government had followed the line taken by the Bhupender Singh Hooda-led Congress government to shrink Mangar's buffer zone.This had surprised ecologists.But the three-hour aerial survey proved to be the turning point. Just two days later, the NCR Planning Board was to meet. Khattar pledged before the board that he would ensure Mangar is protected.
Khattar told TOI, “Conservation of forests and other ecologically fragile zones is a priority of our gov ernment. Everyone is concerned about climate change.“
The local Gujjar community has been protecting Mangarbani as a matter of faith be cause they see the forest as the abode of Gudariya Das Baba, their patron saint. TOI had first reported in January 2009 how land sharks were eyeing this precious land for real estate projects.
Efforts to eat into Mangar continued till June last year, buoyed by the Hooda government's support, in the garb of promoting tourism, to de mands that more constr uction activity be allowed in the Aravalis. A forest depart ment official said with the gov ernment's approval to the demarcation of Mangarban and its buffer area, at least 50% of the entire land of Man gar known as gair mumkin pa had (common hill land) has been protected.
Chief conservator of forest (Gurgaon circle) MD Sinha said that most of the area de marcated as core Mangarban is dense forest and has no hu man settlement. Only a smal area of human settlement in Kot village is under the buffer zone. “We are considering re moving that area from the buffer zone,“ he said.
Sinha added, “Around 80% of Mangarbani and its buffer zone was outside the recorded forest area. Most of this land is privately owned.“ He said once the demarcation is done it wil deter sale and purchase of land in this area. “You will get what you will purchase; if you purchase a forest, you will get a forest. Now one cannot pur chase a forest and convert it in to anything else,“ said Sinha.
The forest officer said they followed the “watershed ridge line approach“ to demarcate the protected area.
