The Hindu : New Delhi News : Destruction of geological heritage opposed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 12, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Destruction of geological heritage opposed

By Anjali Dhal Samanta

NEW DELHI, APRIL 11. It may be a little patch of green, but for the residents of Anand Niketan here it is a breather from Delhi's polluted air. However, with plans to landscape this green patch, residents are worried that the Delhi Development Authority will destroy this bit of natural heritage.

Dotted with trees, this bit of green boasts of a few rocky formations, which in all likelihood is a part of the Ridge. However, far from being the usual quiet retreat, for the past few days, work has been going on to build a "jogging track". But it was not just a simple jogging track that the DDA was planning on. "This morning bulldozers and tractors were brought. And they started destroying these old rock formations. It has taken nature so many years to create this geological heritage and now, these people have just destroyed them in one day,'' said a resident of the area, Virendra Dayal, a former National Human Rights Commission member.

Conforming to the approved DDA landscape plan, the team cut through the boulders to carve out a track. Even trees that interfered with the plan were destroyed. "They did not have to make the path here. They could have let the boulders stand. They were about to pull down these trees but we did not let them. This is a beautiful area that attracts many birds,'' argued Mr. Dayal.

While the DDA officials maintained that the demand to landscape the park came from residents themselves, an official who arrived after repeated calls to DDA, agreed that destruction of this natural heritage was wrong. "There was no need to destroy these boulders. Our plan does include making a track through the rocky formation but it was not necessary to make it like this,'' admitted the official who was sent to survey the area. "I will be giving my report to the higher officials and the decision for the same should be taken soon. If people do not want it, why should we make it?'' he added.

The demand for maintaining the park did come from a group of residents. While the DDA is caught in the crossfire, a member of Anand Niketan Co-operative Housing Society Limited, J.N. Gupta, revealed that they had written to the DDA several times, asking them to beautify the park. "We have asked the DDA many times to landscape it. It is a haphazard piece of land and was not properly maintained. We demanded that the park should be developed. But we never asked for a jogging track,'' he said.

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