NCR towns in UP, Haryana told to increase forest cover
The environment ministry has suggested that Uttar Pradesh should increase its forest cover by 500% and Haryana by 400%, in a bid to increase the green cover in the National Capital Region. Over the years, the NCR has witnessed a vast increase in population and depletion of green areas.
The ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) has said, in a letter addressed to the NCR Planning Board that in the NCR the forest cover is only 6.2% while the national average forest cover is around 21.05%. The MoEF has mentioned that the track record of Delhi and Rajasthan is much better than the other two member states—Haryana and Uttar Pradesh while pushing for more green cover in the region and the call for member states to put in more effort. In Delhi, the forest cover is about 11.9% and in Rajasthan it is around 14.4%.
As per the environmental analysts, since Delhi and Rajasthan each have a sanctuary—Bhati in Delhi and Sariska in Rajasthan—a major portion of forests have been protected. However, any area has not yet been earmarked by Haryana as protected forests despite the Aravalis, which fall under Faridabad in the NCR, having a sacred forest.
Between 2000 and 2009, in the NCR urbanization, road expansion and illegal mining have taken a toll on the green cover. There has been an insignificant increase in open forest areas with shrubs and minimal plantation while the dense forest cover in the area has reduced by nearly 40%. Delhi with nearly 11.9% of its area having some forest cover remains the greenest city in NCR.
The first-ever comparative satellite-based study of change in land use in NCR had indicated that the development works and rapid urbanization in the region between 1999 and 2012 have been a loss to green cover and water bodies, almost equal to a quarter (23%) of Delhi’s area. The region lost 32,769 hectares of green areas and 1,464 hectares of water bodies. The NCRPB study found that during the same period, built-up area in the region grew by an immense 34%, bringing 95,803 hectares of land into the construction zone.
Aravalis, Delhi, environment ministry, Faridabad, Forest areas Source: Times of India, Haryana, Ministry of environment and forest, National Capital Region, NCR, NCR urbanization
