‘Forced to fight for our lungs’: Jaipur sisters cycle 300 km to Delhi to save a forest

The movement to protect the patch began in 2021. Savi started cycling to different schools in Jaipur. “I used to take Bhavya (the younger sister) along — that later inspired her to take the campaign forward and eventually appeal to the PM. Even though we tried knocking on all doors, nobody heard us out then and instead, we started receiving threats,” she said.

Bhavya recalled: “One day, we saw people who were cutting trees, sitting under the shade of trees. It was so sad.”

The movement started by the two girls years back, intensified in mid-April this year with sit-ins, hunger strikes and weekly gatherings. Savi said,“In 2021, we would hug the trees to prevent bulldozers from felling them. But in 2024, when the new government took charge, fences and barricades were erected so that we couldn’t enter.”

“In July, however, when the gates opened to make way for a truck, we were shocked to see what was happening inside. More than 200 trees were wiped out. Khejri and Roheda trees were also not spared even though they are our state tree and state flower tree (respectively),” Savi said.

Local residents allege that since June, more than 300 trees have already been cut despite widespread opposition.

Savi, Bhavya and the campaigners who accompanied them on Thursday held a press conference after reaching the national capital.

Former district forest officer Devendra Bharadwaj had said that it was found that the forest generates nearly 250 tonnes of oxygen annually, sequestering around 50 tonnes of carbon dioxide, improving groundwater levels by 30 per cent and lowering the area’s temperature by up to 5°C.

At the press conference on Thursday, the campaigners reiterated three demands: an immediate halt to tree cutting, suspension of all construction until a consensus-based solution is reached, and the declaration of Dol Ka Badh as a Biodiversity Park

Located in Taron ki Koot in Jaipur, Dol Ka Badh is only 4 km away from the Jaipur International Airport. It is a 100-acre land which had been at the centre of legal disputes as it was controversially marked as “industrial land” and given to the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) for repurposing.

Several people, including activists, have claimed that the area has developed into a self-regenerated forest with more than 2,400 trees, 85 bird species. It is the only naturally developed forest in the city and has been documented by forest officers, botanists and ornithologists, who have geotagged every tree, in May this year. This was done by two volunteer groups, as per Kavita Srivastava, one of the main campaigners and the general secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), a human rights body.

When the movement to protect Dol Ka Badh began in 2021, people organised protests, tree plantation drives and even hugged trees to keep bulldozers away. These followed plans for the fintech park. The project, however, was put on hold, but in 2024, the plan was revived and tree cutting resumed this summer under the RIICO.

A senior RIICO official had earlier said the land was originally allotted in 1988 for a Gem Stone Industrial Park, but the project was cancelled. “Over the years, vegetation grew on the unused tract, but that doesn’t mean the land is a forest area,” the official said. The official also confirmed that a proposal by the previous Congress government to develop a FinTech park was shelved, and now two new projects are on the cards.

The official also said that RIICO would comply with the city’s master plan, building by-laws and legal or environmental provisions. Highlighting that the projects are designed to create employment and business opportunities while retaining as many trees as possible, he said that wherever a tree would be felled, if necessary, RIICO will plant ten times more trees in line with National Green Tribunal (NGT) directions.

Responding to the allegations by campaigners who said that there had been multiple instances of detention, including one on July 13, when the members started an indefinite hunger strike, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Sanganer) Vinod Kumar Sharma had earlier said that he was not aware of any such incident.

Speaking with The Indian Express, Savi and Bhavya’s father and entrepreneur Vijendra Shekhawat, who has been associated with the movement since its early days, said on Thursday, “When the trees were being cut, our daughters cried a lot, and we didn’t know what to tell them,”

“We are being forced to fight for our lungs, for our trees,” Bhavya added.

In the letter to the Prime Minister, the sisters wrote: “We are not against development, but we believe it should be done in a way that protects nature. We have prepared an alternative proposal to declare Dol Ka Badh as a Biodiversity Park instead.”

The girls are yet to submit their letter to the Prime Minister and are awaiting an appointment.