Work on creating a detailed project report (DPR) for an upcoming biodiversity park near Damdama lake began on Saturday, with staffers from the district administration’s Gurujal department undertaking the first field survey of an eco-restoration site in Khedla village, in Sohna block, about 25 kilometres from the district headquarters.
The proposal, being implemented under the Centre’s Jal Shakti Abhiyan, involves creating a native Aravalli forest on approximately 400 acres of hilly land over the next five years, officials said.
Gurujal staffers on Saturday said that preparing the DPR would take at least six months, and that a final report would be submitted to the state government for approval by March next year. In the interim, environmental engineers, civil engineers, biodiversity specialists and community managers working under the Gurujal initiative will conduct extensive surveys to assess the current status of the area’s biodiversity and hydrology.
In addition, a socio-economic assessment of Damdama and Khedla villages, whose 1,500-odd residents (as per the Census 2011) continue to depend on the forests for grazing animals and collecting fuelwood, will be conducted. Narender Raghav, sarpanch of the Khedla gram panchayat, said, “In other parts of the district, common lands are being privatised and encroached upon. That’s not what we want for our village. We agreed to give our common lands for the project because we hope to create employment for the village youngsters and also to give them a sense of pride.”
Sachin Kumar, technical manager, Gurujal, said, “The total area of Damdama and Khedla villages is about 500 acres, of which 400 acres of common village land, which comes under the ownership of the two gram panchayats, will be restored. The area has the potential to a be rich forest with native vegetation. As part of our fieldwork over the next six months, we will be creating plantation management plan to identify which native species are to be planted, and how to control the growth of invasive weeds and trees. By March we are also hoping to set up a nursery on the site.”
Sunil Harsana, an independent ecologist from Faridabad’s Mangar village, who led Saturday’s survey of Khedla site, said, “This particular area has a richer presence of native rootstock than other Aravalli patches in Gurugram, such as Bandhwari, which have been denuded due to mining and real estate.” While invasive species, such as mesquite trees, are also prevalent in the Damdama-Khedla patch, the vegetation is not as denuded, he explained, adding that the biotic pressures on this forest are mainly from grazing and collecting of wood, which is far more manageable than rampant encroachment. “It is the right place for eco-restoration.”
Over the next six months, field staff will divide the area into 50 acre plots, which will be surveyed independently. The local biodviersity management committee (BMC), which has already been set up under the aegis of the gram panchayats, will aid the staff in creating a local biodiversity register, cataloging species of plants, wild mammals, reptiles and birds. This is the first step in a seven-stage process, known as biodiversity resolution.
Following this, the Gurujal department will seek administrative approval for preparation of the DPR, after which the forest and land revenue departments will demarcate the area for ecorestoration. This will be followed by construction of a boundary wall along the site, setting up of a nursery, and ‘earth preparation’ work, and will be ultimately succeeded by a mass plantation drive aimed for the next monsoon season. “The plantation work, when it begins will progress plot-wise, and the park will be generated 50 to 100 acres at a time, over the next five years,” said Shubhi Kesarwani, programme manager, Gurujal.
