NACEJ writes to Bhupender Yadav, Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini to scrap proposed Aravalli Zoo safari project

CHANDIGARH: The Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav and Haryana Chief Minister, Nayab Singh Saini, have been given a memorandum by the National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ) to scrap the proposed 10,000-acre Aravalli Zoo safari project. NACEJ is a pan Indian forum of the National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM) comprising grassroots movement activists, ecologists, climate scientists, environmental researchers and lawyers. The 10,000-acre Aravalli Zoo safari project is the 'Worlds Largest Curated Safari Park' in Gurugram and Nuh districts of Haryana. A few months ago, a group of 37 retired Indian Forest Service officers from across the country had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, opposing this project. NACEJ today sent a memorandum to the Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav and Haryana CM Saini calling for immediate abandonment of the proposed Aravalli Zoo Safari Park. The memorandum critiques the proposed project and suggests alternatives, while also stressing the need for effective conservation of the fragile Aravalli ecosystem, upholding of community rights and the Forest Rights Act. The land identified for the project is ecologically significant. It comprises areas notified under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900, and land afforested under the Aravalli Plantation Project. Notably, a significant portion of the funding for the Aravalli Zoo Safari Park project will reportedly be sourced from compensatory payments for forest loss due to the disastrous megaproject planned in the Great Nicobar Island. The Haryana Zoo Safari project is fundamentally a commercial tourism venture with severe and irreversible negative consequences for the region's ecology, wildlife, and local communities, it reads. The memorandum stated that the project threatens the livelihoods and rights of local communities who depend on the Aravalli forests for fodder, fuelwood, and other resources. Following the declaration of 24,353 hectares as Protected Forest for compensatory afforestation, the Haryana Government suspended all community and individual rights over the land for 30 years. Furthermore, the project risks the displacement of approximately 100 economically vulnerable families who live in the area but lack formal land titles. Environmental Researcher and Lawyer Meenakshi Kapoor said, This action is in contravention of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and directly violates the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA), which mandates the recording and recognition of people's rights. She further added that the plan to introduce exotic, charismatic species like tigers, lions, and cheetahs into fenced enclosures is a major point of contention. Conservation experts argue that fencing a contiguous 10,000-acre patch of forest will be devastating. It will fragment a critical and last-remaining functional wildlife corridor in Haryana, which connects to Mangar Bani and Asola sanctuaries and is used by native species like leopards, striped hyenas, sambar deer, and honey badgers. This fragmentation will obstruct the free movement of native wildlife, disrupt natural food chains, and likely increase human-wildlife conflict. Malaika Mathew Chawla, Ecologist, says, He focuses on a few exotic species for tourism, also risks the neglect of the several endangered and threatened native species that the Aravallis currently support. The Safari enclosures and the fencing will obstruct the free movement of existing wildlife in the Aravallis and cause fragmentation of the area and thus negatively impact their survival and well-being, The Aravalli range is a critical ecological feature, serving as a natural barrier against desertification and acting as a vital groundwater recharge zone for the water-deficient National Capital Region. Neelam Ahluwalia, Founder of People for Aravallis, a civil society group advocating for conservation of the Aravalli range, said, The extensive construction planned in the zoo safari in 10,000 acres of the Haryana Aravallis including hotels, clubs, roads, entertainment parks, landscaped gardens, etc. will involve clearing vegetation, destroying micro-habitats, and disrupting the region's aquifers. This will put immense pressure on an already severely depleted groundwater table in both Gurugram and Nuh districts. The influx of tourists will also lead to increased waste generation, pollution, and noise, further disturbing the fragile ecosystem. This is particularly alarming in a region already struggling with illegal construction, rampant illegal mining and mixed waste dumping and burning. As an alternative to the Aravalli Zoo Safari Park, NACEJ suggested developing a genuine and just ecotourism model centred on the regions native wildlife and local culture. Such an initiative would augment local livelihoods and generate tourism revenue without jeopardising the ecological integrity of the Aravallis.