Imagine a region bestowed with a geological and biological treasure, but cursed with successive regimes that are more interested in the stones and sand underneath, and the real estate on which these treasures stand. That’s Haryana and the Aravallis. Despite protection from a raft of laws, and judgments of the Supreme Court, the environmental degradation of the Aravallis continues. Some of this is on account of illegal activities. But others are on account of state-sponsored ones — after all, as its interventions in various courts of law show, Haryana would like the protection accorded to some parts of the Aravallis to go, either to cover past misdeeds (developments sanctioned by the state in areas where they never should have been), or to now legally approve new developments that require inconvenient patches of forests or old hills to be removed.
Thus, news that even the six check posts that remained of the 51 that should have been there, to prevent the exploitation of the Aravallis, no longer exist should not come as a surprise to anyone. Nor should the fact that a task force that should have existed to monitor this, doesn’t. But, as always, the state’s response to the latest revelation is that the check posts will be set up afresh, and a task force created.
This is a pity because the Aravallis are key to the wellbeing of the National Capital Region’s 64 million residents in more ways than one. They are a natural barrier preventing the relentless eastward march of the Thar desert. They are a massive groundwater recharge area. And, they are a biodiversity hotspot — with avian fauna that attracts birders from all around the world. But does Haryana want them at all?
