Ggm’s range forest office raises concerns over proposed RRTS corridor through forest area of Sehrawan
Gurugram: The range forest office of Gurugram has raised objections to the application of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which has sought clearance from the forest department regarding its proposed rail route, under the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), passing through a protected forest area of Sehrawan village near Manesar.
The NCRTC is executing the RRTS project from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi till Neemrana in Rajasthan, through Gurugram district. Roughly 21-km route of the project is in Gurugram district from Kapashera border to Panchgaon.
As per the RRTS route proposal, in Delhi the rail corridor is underground till IDPL complex at Udyog Vihar where it will be elevated till Kherki Daula toll plaza and again it will go underground at Manesar up to Sehrawan forest — a protected forest under sections 4 and 5 of Punjab Land Preservation Act — covering a distance of 1 km through the wildlife corridor.
“The 1-km corridor through Sehrawan forest is questionable as this is a leopard zone, a protected forest, and massive deforestation will destroy the wild habitat,” said the range forest officer wishing anonymity, adding that the objections have been referred to senior officials at division level on Monday.
Incidentally, in 2017, the Haryana government had proposed to shift Kherki Daula toll plaza to Sehrawan by transferring 59-acre panchayat land to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), but the proposal faced a protest from the locals forcing the government to scrap the plan and look for different location at Panchgaon.
Jai Kumar, divisional forest officer (DFO), Gurugram, said, “We have received the application with objections from the forest wing concerned. We are examining the issue to appropriate decision suitable for forest conservation, which is more important for the department. This is a wildlife area, a protected leopard zone and their habitats are our priority.”
Sudhir Kumar Sharma, spokesperson of NCRTC, said, “We have received a letter from the forest department asking us to make a conservation plan, so that the forest area can be saved with utmost priority and an important project like RRTS also does not get hampered. We are coordinating with the department in this regard.”