Amendments to land preservation Act will save some landowners but rampant development must be checked
The Haryana Legislative Assembly recently passed some crucial amendments to the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), which will now allow municipal corporations such as Gurugram, Faridabad and further north, Panchkula, to allow development in certain areas of the Aravali and Shivalik ranges. Environmentalists are, undoubtedly, livid that such a move will remove the remaining few vestiges of the hill ranges that still surround the capital and Chandigarh with devastating consequences for the ecology of the area, which is already suffering from immense water stress and perennial air pollution. Advocates of the amendments have argued that better management of the land for housing and human use is necessary for future development, which will not encroach on arable farmland. The fact is that both arguments have salient points. There is an urgent need to develop more housing and allied infrastructure in rapidly-growing urban areas. However, one should not allow rampant development at the cost of the environment because such an occurrence will only lead to urban areas becoming unliveable. The fact is that India has a burgeoning population and it cannot afford to have development stalled due to petty environmental issues that often stink of elitism, such as the protests in Mumbai against the Metro and in Goa about a new airport. Therefore, the solution to all of this is having enhanced oversight of major development projects to ensure that a balance is reached between development and the environment. The fact is that ‘Not In My Back Yard’ (NIMBY) protestors will only succeed in driving development elsewhere, which might have worse consequences for the environment in the long run.
The Haryana Government might have passed these amendments but it has to ensure that there is not a sudden spurt of buildings, rules are respected and building activity is controlled and kept in check so that the stressed water table and air quality stay within reasonable limits. Environmentalists should also realise that preventing development makes them appear anti-poor, and if they want meaningful change, they have to work with developers and the government to ensure balanced growth. We cannot allow ecologically sensitive areas to be over-run with concrete, ergo, control is important. It is not as if illegal development has not happened in the past with huge tracts of land being grabbed. Illegal stone quarrying still takes place on the Aravalis. So it is contingent on the Haryana Government to control the worst excesses while scaling human needs to practical limits.
