Bio-park near Tughlakabad fort: HC seeks action plan from DDA

Delhi High Court today directed DDA to place before the Lt Governor an expert body's recommendations to convert the forested district park and a polluted waterbody near Tughlakabad Fort into a bio-diversity park, so that an action plan can be formulated.
A bench of justices B D Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva issued the direction as it felt the local authorities were taking the issue "too lightly" and the expert panel's proposal was "encouraging".
It expressed hope that Delhi Development Authority (DDA) would place the report before LG before February 3 so that an immediate action plan can be drawn up, saying "time is running short as forests (near the fort) were being encroached upon on a daily basis".

The court also expressed concern that plant life native to India has been eliminated from the forest areas in the Ridge and the DDA district park near the fort, located near the Delhi-Faridabad border, due to the introduction of 'kikar' trees 150 years ago by the British colonial government.
According to the report, kikar trees, which are native to Mexico and are protected in the name of Delhi's green lungs, are an "alien invasive species" and have "eliminated around 500 varieties of native plants and animals".
The report by C R Babu, a noted ecologist, and Faiyaz A Khudsar, a scientist, has claimed the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations has said that the species needs to be eradicated from India, and recommended replacement of 'kikar' by flora native to India.

It has further said that for development and management of the biodiversity park, two posts of scientists, three supervisors, two nature education officers, 40 multi-tasking staff and 20 security guards be provided, a suggestion which the court has asked DDA to focus upon.

Another recommendation that DDA has been asked to focus on is to notify the already approved Delhi Biodiversity Foundation Regulations of 2015.
On the issue of polluted water bodies in the park, the
panel has observed that the water quality "is unfit even for irrigation" due to high suspended particulate matter, foetid smell, presence of toxic elements concentration and various other factors.

It has recommended that Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should immediately give permission to set up a 2.5 million gallons per day (MGD) sewage treatment plant (STP) in a low-lying area inside the fort.
This depression inside the fort is already receiving the sewage from surrounding areas and also being encroached upon, the report has stated and added that the area can be converted into a wetland by using integrated bio-filteration technology for purifying the sewage.
Thereafter, "bioremediation of the polluted water bodies" would be carried out by first desilting them and using the silt for making embankments which in turn would be developed into greenways.

After that aquatic vegetation and fishes, to consume algae, would be introduced and floating root-mats used to clean the water, the panel said in its proposed action plan.
The panel has also suggested that "DDA should develop the district park at Tughlakabad (Tehkhand phase II) along with the contiguous district park (Tehkhand phase I) of Kalkaji extension as DDA Tughlakabad biodiversity park and bring it under Delhi biodiversity foundation".
"The merger of two district parks will provide ecological integrity and would facilitate movement of wildlife," it has said.
It has further suggested that the burial ground and the Central Reserve Police Force camp inside the park be "insulated" by walling them off and a boundary wall be built around the entire park.

It has sought prohibition on discharge of sewage and dumping of solid waste in the area.