The Haryana government has proposed a private hospital and two affordable housing projects near the Sultanpur National Park, an eco-sensitive zone.
While another campus of SGT Hospital is being planned on 21.2 hectares just 1.4km from the boundary of the park, the two residential projects have been proposed at a distance of 5km.
The projects were discussed at a meeting between a government team and the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) on June 17.
According to the minutes of the meeting released for the media, the additional chief secretary (forest department) insisted that arrangements to deal with waste from the proposed hospital had been made. “…the user agency has signed an agreement with 11 agencies in 22 districts across the state and there is well laid out plan for the purpose of disposal of bio-medical and solid waste.
For Gurugram and Rewari, an agreement has been signed with Anup Yadav for bio-tech waste disposal. The capacity is for 10 tonne per day with autoclave and incineration facilities. The agreement was signed in March 2021. There are well-laid arrangements for disposal of bio-medical waste. The proposal is for the expansion of capacity from the present 800 beds,” the meeting document said.
The standing committee sought more details from the state government and decided to discuss the hospital project again at the next meeting. For the two housing projects – which are being planned in Dhorka village of Sector 95 – details were not available for the disposal of bio-waste. These two projects would also be discussed again at the next meet.
Officials in the forest and wildlife department said a copy of the proposals had been sent to the Centre as none of them were found to violate any environmental norms.
“The proposals are yet to get approval. According to rules, hospitals and medical institutes can be developed after 1km of the park boundary. Housing projects can also come up after 3km. Both the projects we proposed are in keeping with the norms,” said Pankaj Goyal, PCCF (wildlife), Haryana.
A total of 15 revenue estates, comprising 22 villages, come under the 5km eco-sensitive zone that the government has marked. A master plan for the area was notified on June 18 last year. According to that, no construction is allowed within 300m of the forest and laying of new high-tension transmission wires is not allowed up to a distance of 500m. No polluting industry, as notified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and brick kilns are allowed within 3km of the park wall.
Buildings higher than two storeys (maximum height 30ft) cannot be constructed in the eco-sensitive zone between 300m and 500m. No new commercial construction is allowed within 3km of the park any kind of mining or stone quarrying is banned up to 5km.
Environmentalists questioned why the government had earmarked a 5km radius as an eco-sensitive zone when the projects were being planned just a few kilometres away from the national park – which received the Ramsar tag last year. “Why notify an ESZ when you cannot protect it? That has always been the case with Haryana. It first notifies something, then goes back and changes it. Amendments after defining an area as sensitive are not in good taste. The government should actually find ways to protect whatever little forest cover it has. The latest move will encourage other constructions as well in the notified zone,” said Vaishali Rana Chandra, an environmentalist.
