NEWS
|
Previous Article | Next Article
Apathy, encroachment choking South Delhi’s lungs
Toxics Link Source: Hindustan Times, Date: , 2013
A walk through south Delhi’s Jahanpanah city forest
means wading through piles of plastic bags filled with filth. Here, you will
also encounter people drinking, playing cards and even defaecating.
The forest was supposed to be lungs of south Delhi,
but rampant encroachment, breached boundaries, and uncontrolled tree-felling
are choking it.
Adjoining houses have come up illegally on its
boundary walls. The houses in Dakshinpuri colony empty their sewage into the
greens and the garbage is simply thrown across the boundary. Hundreds of
plastic bags can be found stuck to trees.
Rampant encroachment by jhuggi clusters and
religious places is another major problem, thanks to lax security. The forest,
notified in 1980, at that time spanned 800 acres. It has now shrunk to 435
acres.
SM Agrawal, president of the group Friends of
Jahanpanah City Forest, said, “On complaints from locals, the Supreme Court had
ordered authorities to keep the forest green and ensure its proper maintenance.
But nothing of that sort happened.”
“Half of the
30 security personnel sanctioned are not found here. Forest fires and petty
crimes are routine,” said RK Jain, who frequently visits the forest for morning
walks.
In January, Lt Col (retd) BB Sharan, who runs an
NGO, wrote to the government about rampant tree-felling by an organised group
of security men and contractors.
He also demanded that all trees be numbered and in
case tree-felling is detected, action be taken against the guards. Area
councillor Sunita Gulliya has also written to the government, saying that more
than five years have passed after the Supreme Court order of removing
encroachment, but nothing has happened.
These letters failed to nudge the Delhi Development
Authority (DDA), which owns the forest, or the forest department.
“We have recently constructed concrete boundaries
after demolishing stone masonry walls. We’re doing our best to check
tree-felling,” said a DDA official, adding “The south corporation has to remove
encroachments.” But the ever-growing number of tree stumps tells a different
tale.
So does the fact that crime in the area is rising.
Residents of nearby areas have complained to the police about cases of petty
crimes. Two dead bodies were recently recovered from here.
Previous Article | Next Article
|
|