Boating in Nakki Lake or enjoying the sunset point at Mount Abu is set to become more fun with the Union environment ministry declaring the hill station an eco-sensitive zone which will ensure that now curbs are in place to retain its pristine charm.
TOI had first reported this in its July 17 edition last year. But the locals had been vehemently opposing the move. However, in June 25, the ministry passed the notifications which will now limit traffic and ban the use of plastic bags among other things. The decision has come as per the recommendations of the Mohan Ram Committee set up by the Supreme Court. The committee had found Mount Abu to be an eco-fragile area and had asked the government to take immediate measures.
Although the ministry has taken the decision in the right earnest, locals are still not convinced and will oppose it. “The move will create more procedural complications and may also lead to corruption as the public will fall victim to babus’ highhandedness,” said Jalam Giri, chairman, Mount Abu Municipal Corporation. He said the move was on for quite some time and they had met chief minister Ashok Gehlot and other leaders apprising them about the problems of the local people. “The chief minister had assured that the tag will be subject to locals’ consent but it has happened unilaterally without taking their views into account,” he added.
The eco-sensitive zone covers the entire area of the notified urban area limit, including Mount Abu municipal limits and adjoining forest block areas. All activities in the forest block areas shall be governed by the provisions of the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953 and the Forests (Conservation) Act, 1980 (69 of 1980) and all the activities in the Protected Areas (Sanctuary) shall be governed by the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (53 of 1972).
A zonal master plan for the eco-sensitive zone shall be prepared by the state government within two years from the date of publication of the notification and will be submitted for approval to the ministry of environment and forests.
The zonal master plan shall provide for restoration of denuded areas, conservation of existing water bodies including Nakki Lake, management of the catchment areas, watershed management, groundwater management, soil and moisture conservation, needs of local community and conservation of heritage sites. It will demarcate all the existing village settlements, tribal areas, including tribal hamlets, forests, agricultural areas, fertile lands etc.
New traffic regulations will also come up and there is a possibility that the entry of vehicles near tourist places will be restricted.
All new constructions shall be allowed only after the proposals are scrutinized and approved by the monitoring committee and all other development activities, including alterations in buildings, shall require prior approval of the committee provided that these do not involve structural changes and are on the existing authorised plinth areas in the Mount Abu municipal limits.
Now, only non-polluting, non-hazardous cottage industries like ice cream, hosiery, embroidery, sewing work, ayurvedic drugs, etc, service industries, agriculture, floriculture, horticulture or agro-based industries shall be permitted in the protected area. There shall be no felling of trees, government revenue or private lands within the zone without the prior permission of the state government in case of forest land and the respective district collectors in case of government, revenue and private land.
The area has three big water bodies namely Upper Kodra dam, Lower Kodra dam and Nakki Lake and in addition to this the area has around 25 water places, which include natural nullah, dams, anicuts, seepage and baoris that are spread over entire area and must be protected. No person shall use plastic carry bags within the notified area. Apart from Mount Abu municipal area, the nearby villages including Sanigaon, Machgaon, Goagaon, Delwara, Oriya, Jawal, Achalgarh, Salgaon, Torna, Dudhai, Hetamji and Arna have also been included in the zone.
(Times of India, 4th July, 2009)
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Preserve Nature, adopt a Tree.
Green tourism is defined as general travel going greener. Going green has been recently getting more and more popular, now hotels, airlines, and tourist hot spots are getting greener to help save the environment. The largest industries in the world are both trying to shrink tourism’s environmental footprint while still expanding their ventures, although many of the industries believe that their efforts will not have any effect on the current global warming crisis at hand.
