10,000 Trees to be chopped to facilitate Doon’s Airport expansion

10,000 Trees to be chopped to facilitate Doon’s Airport expansion
Image source: Google

Plans have been in place for the expansion of the Jolly Grant Airport of Uttarakhand with a view to turning it into an international facility. Further, this shall have a strategic importance for India since Uttarakhand and China share a border.

To facilitate this move, the Uttarakhand Forest Department has decided to give up around 234 acres of Shivalik Elephant Reserve. The state government has sought the approval of the National Wildlife Board to transfer the land to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The proposal shall be placed before the National Wildlife Board on October 5 for its approval.

This act shall mean that the home for elephants would shrink and would also lead to the chopping of 10,000 trees. The trees that are to be cut inter alia includes precious species like Khair, Sheesham, Sagon and Gulmohar.

The area proposed to be converted into the airport falls within a 10kms radius of the Rajaji National Park Eco-Sensitive Zone, a national park and tiger reserve in the foothills of the Himalayas. Also, the notified elephant corridors are located within 3kms radius of the said area.

The environmental conservationists have highly criticised the widening of roads and the extensive construction in Uttarakhand and other Himalayan states in recent years. They further raised concerns that this move is going to be devastating for the ecosystem of the which is a natural habitat not just for elephants but also for leopards, sambhar and several other wildlife species.

If experts are to be believed then the region will face severe damage to its ecosystem and more frequent natural disasters if the government keeps putting infrastructure first and environment later.