NEW DELHI, Jan 28: Instead of the chirping of birds, the only sound that is heard in the Asola Bhatti sanctuary is the loud whirring of machines digging into the land. While the Delhi Wildlife Department announced a Rs 2-crore expansion plan for the green belt on the Delhi-Haryana border, declared a sanctuary in 1986, the powerful miners lobby in Haryana are all set to thwart their plans.Just along the newly-constructed boundary of the sanctuary lies the 9,000 hectares being dug by the miners for the lucrative Badarpur (silica sand) used for construction. The entire boundary is pockmarked with at least 70-80 trenches, several feet deep, making it difficult even for the 48-kilometre boundary to be constructed.In any case, the boundary line is still under dispute making it difficult for the government to take action against the offenders. As per the High Court order of September 1998, the Survey of India was supposed to demarcate land. The process is still on and till then these miners are makinghay.The miners find it easy to transport the trucks through the sanctuary. The road through the sanctuary helps them save nearly 25 kilometres as compared to the circuitous route through the Mandi village in Haryana.The result: Nearly 1,000 trucks pass through the forest, coating the trees on the side with a thick layer of dust. According to Forest officials, the noise and the disturbance is extremely harmful for animals like jackals, civets and neelghais. Even more disturbing is the fact that they are supposed to be release 23 blackbucks, 50 cheetals, crocodiles and neelghais as part of their expansion plans.``Apart from the noise pollution, the animals run the risk of falling into the deep trenches,'' said an official. Detonation and explosion can also create serious psychological effects on animals, he added. The problem of poaching by the labourers working in the mines also increases because of free access to the sanctuary.``We have requested the Haryana Government a number of times to stopthis mining activity in the area which constitutes the buffer zone. But because the lobby is powerful, they continue with their trade,'' said R K Dhawan, chief conservator of forests.Locals say that in the cover of darkness at night, these miners stray into Delhi and continue to mine where it had been banned in 1988 after widespread damage to the area which once boasted on tigers till 1940s. In fact, some of them are bold enough to carry out small-scale mining during the day time. Two trucks which were transporting Badarpur from the Delhi side were caught on Monday.As a possible deterrent, the department has often dug the roads to prevent trucks from plying but within hours they are filled up.Around the sanctuaries are JJ colonies like Sanjay camp and Indira Nagar whose residents by now have pucca houses. There is a proposal to shift them elsewhere as part of the beautification plans.
