Gurugram: A collective of 37 retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers from various states have strongly objected to the proposed Aravalli Zoo Safari project in Haryana, citing threats to the region’s fragile ecology, disruption to wildlife, worsening of water crisis and risks of commercial exploitation.
The ex-IFS officers, in their representation to the prime minister, highlighted the environmental threats posed by the project and sought urgent conservation efforts to protect the ancient Aravalli range.
Copies of the letter have also been sent to the Union minister and secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the director general of forests, and the chief secretaries of the four Aravalli states.
The Print has accessed a copy of the representation.
The Aravalli Jungle Safari Project is an ambitious eco-tourism initiative launched by the Haryana government in April 2022 during the tenure of former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
In January, the Haryana government had constituted an eight-member committee under the principal chief conservator of forests–cum–chief wildlife warden to monitor matters related to the setting up of the project.
Spread over 10,000 acres in the Aravalli hills of Gurugram and Nuh districts, the project aims to develop a world-class jungle safari to boost tourism, generate employment, and attract private investment.
Planned as the largest jungle safari in the world, the park is expected to feature safari zones, an aviary, an underwater zone, and biodiversity parks showcasing native flora and fauna, according to the state government’s claims.
The government envisions this project as a key attraction for both domestic and international tourists, promoting Haryana as a major wildlife tourism destination.
The retired forest officers argue that such a massive tourism project will cause irreversible ecological damage to the fragile Aravalli landscape.
“The Aravallis are India’s ecological and cultural heritage, among the oldest mountain ranges in the world with origins dating back 1,800 to 2,500 million years. Destruction of this fragile ecosystem will result in significant biodiversity loss, land degradation, and decline in vegetation cover, negatively impacting local communities, cattle, and wildlife,” said R.P. Balwan, retired conservator of forests, south circle Haryana, one of the signatories.
The 1984-batch IFS officer, who has authored the book ‘The Aravalli Ecosystems: Mystery of Civilisations’, had taken voluntary retirement in 2009 after his differences with the Haryana government’s stand in the Supreme Court on the Aravalli case.
Once the Aravalli’s fragile ecosystem is disturbed, the herbivores will not be able to get their food, he explained. In turn, the carnivores also will find it tough to sustain. Increased human activity, noise pollution, and infrastructure development could disturb their natural habitat, leading to migration or even population decline, he added.
Similarly, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has found evidence of Stone Age and hence the project could destroy the cultural heritage of the region as well.
The Aravalli played a crucial role in recharging groundwater, which is already depleting rapidly in Haryana. “Cutting trees and altering the landscape for a safari could further reduce water retention, exacerbating the water crisis,” Balwan added.
The representation stressed that the proposed location of the zoo safari falls under ‘forest’ land, making it subject to various Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders under the Forest Conservation Act. These laws prohibit cutting trees, clearing land, construction, and real estate development in ‘prohibited zones’.
“As per a survey conducted by the forest department, the Aravalli is home to 180 bird species, 15 mammal species, 29 aquatic species, 57 butterfly species, and many reptiles. A zoo or safari is not essential for wildlife conservation because while they aid in breeding endangered species, keeping animals in captivity in limited spaces negatively impacts their natural behavior,” said Uma Shanker Singh, retired Principal Chief Conservators of Forests (PCCF) from Uttar Pradesh, told The Print.
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Threat to water security in Gurugram, Nuh
The Aravalli aquifers are critical water reserves for the already water-starved districts of Gurugram and Nuh, the letter mentioned. Any construction and excavation work will disturb these underground water systems, further worsening the water crisis in the region.
“The project includes an ‘underwater zone’, which could drain the already scarce water resources. The groundwater table in Gurugram and Nuh has been classified as ‘overexploited’ by the Central Ground Water Board, with levels dropping below 1,000 ft in some areas. Many tube wells, borewells, and ponds have dried up,” Arvind Jha, retired PCCF from Maharashtra, another signatory, told The Print.
“For Haryana, which has the lowest forest cover in India at just 3.6 percent, the Aravallis are its only major green belt. If left untouched, the Aravalli range could help in restoring humidity and increasing rainfall in this dry region.”
The representation stated that the project’s actual aim is to boost tourism and attract
government and private investments rather than focus on conservation. Increased human footfall, vehicular traffic, and construction will lead to severe environmental degradation, it added.
Environmentalists and conservationists argue that instead of creating artificial enclosures for wildlife, the Haryana government should focus on restoring degraded forest areas, enforcing stricter anti-mining laws, and promoting sustainable eco-tourism.
The retired IFS officers have urged the PM and the environment ministry to immediately halt the Aravalli Zoo Safari project and prioritise a long-term conservation plan to protect the mountain range from further destruction.
Neelam Ahluwalia, an environmaentalist and a founder member of the group, People for Aravallis, said that the government authorities need to invite these retired officers for a meaningful discussion and take their suggestions on what is the best way to save the ecologically sensitive Aravalli in Gurugram and Nuh districts.
“Commercial projects such as zoo safaris which will require a lot of infrastructure and construction activities in this ecologically fragile region is not what this dying mountain range needs,” Ahluwalia told The Print.
The people had urged all the political parties in the run up to the Haryana elections to scrap the plan to build the zoo safari and declare the entire Aravalli belt in the state as an ecologically critical zone, the green activist added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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