Ever since the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) had announced in October that they planned to construct an Expressway cutting through the Aravalli Biodiversity Park , the green warriors of Gurgaon had taken up arms against it. Now, after weeks of to-and-fro and large-scale protests, the administration has finally relented. On Wednesday, MCG Commissioner Yashpal Yadav told TOI that he had written a letter to the other civic body in Gurgaon – Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) – to reconsider the plan. The GMDA has been the authority negotiating with the NHAI about the road. The activists who had been campaigning for the road project to be stopped say it is a victory, but add that it is merely the first step in their fight to protect the city’s green lungs. The proposed road project would have destroyed over a third of the park and activists and wildlife experts say that it would have harmed a number of plant and animal species which call the park home. “I have submitted a report to the GMDA as they were coordinating with the NHAI for this project. I have asked them to reconsider it (the plan). The road development plan was not according to the 2031 Master Plan,” MCG Commissioner Yashpal Yadav was quoted as saying in a news report.The land through which the expressway is proposed is owned by the MCG and the authority says it was not consulted when the project was conceived.Sources from the GMDA say that the senior officials they are reconsidering the plan to build the expressway through the park after MCG’s objection and have started to look for alternatives. MD Sinha, Additional CEO, GMDA, says, “We have received a letter from the MCG about the proposed road project and will re-evaluate the plan based on their objections.” This means that for now, the road seems to have been put on hold.Over 5000 school students from Gurgaon staged a protest at the Park on Children’s DayOver the last six weeks, the park, which is spread over 380 acres near the Delhi-Gurgaon border, had seen several protests and events by residents urging the authorities to put the road on a hold. At the forefront of the protests for saving the Aravalli Biodiversity Park has been citizen’s group I Am Gurgaon, who had been instrumental in reclaiming the area from a mining site and developing it into a green zone. Latika Thukral, founder, I Am Gurgaon, says, “This has definitely given us a breather, and given us more time to think about the next course of action. Needless to say, I am very excited that the MCG and GMDA have understood our position and the need to protect the environment and the park. Now, after consultation with the authorities and seeing what action they take as an alternative, we will work on how to secure the park forever.”The activists who had been campaigning for the road project to be stopped claim it as a victory but add that it is merely the first step in their fight to protect the city’s green lungsSome activists call the development a victory of the people and a testament to how the administration is forced to act and make changes if people band together. Ravish, a wildlife enthusiast from Sector 43, says, “It just goes to show what citizens can achieve if they raise their voice and come together as one. We always tend to see civic administration as powerful and indifferent but this has proved that if you reach out to them in a sensible and logical manner, they do listen. The voice of the people has strength. It matters!”And hundreds of residents, for whom the park has become a part of their daily routine through morning walks, birdwatching walks, and even events held in the amphitheatre, say that they can now breathe a sigh of relief. “Aravalli Biodiversity Park is a part of Gurgaon. We all go there for runs, walks, and even cultural events. It would have been a shame to see it being destroyed. We are very happy about this decision and hope that instead of it being destroyed, it is expanded and grows,” says Manu Kalra, whose fitness group organized a run in the park recently.Ajit Singh, a runner from the city, says, “We all have an emotional connect with the park and hence, the news feels like a personal gift.” The protesters are cautious in their response to the new development. Sarika Panda, a city-based activist, says, “It is good news indeed but I just hope there isn’t a repeat of this anytime soon. We have seen time and again how administration publicly takes back some plan after protests but then resumes it very quietly when all dies down.”Panda also adds that while it’s good news for Gurgaon, the proposed road project cuts through the Aravallis in other places too and the fight to save all of them must sustain. “The section of the expressway which was to go through the Aravalli Biodiversity Park is just over 2km long. There are other sections totalling 11km, which cut through the Aravallis at various places. Now, we must fight to save all of them,” she says.

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