Noida bio-diversity park row: Residents protest at authority’s plantation drive

To quell the anger of residents who are against the proposed bio-diversity park in Sector 91, the Noida Authority organised a plantation drive today at the site, wherein 800 saplings of various varieties were planted.

But the drive wasn’t received well by a section of residents who staged a protest to show their anger at the authority’s decision to cut a part of the forest.

“This is the only forest area left in the city, which provides oxygen to us. It is also the habitat of several wild animals. They can’t take it away from us. We are not against the plantation drive but we are not supporting the decision to make a park out of a forest,” said Nikhat Tyagi, a resident participating in the protest.

Residents say that the city already has enough parks and most of them are not well maintained by the authorities. “They should work on maintaining those parks first, rather than making a new one,” said another resident.

Meanwhile, speaking to City Spidey, Rajender Kumar, Deputy Director of Horticulture Department of Noida Authority, said, “We planted more than 800 saplings today of 14 different varieties, including neem, sheesham, sirus, jamun. Our plan is to plant more than 150 varieties of plants in the area."

A small group of residents supporting the construction of the bio-diversity park also turned up at the drive today. They were seen telling the protesters to leave the place.

According to the supporters, cutting down of eucalyptus trees from the area — the predominant vegetation there — is a good move, since this particular species absorbs a lot of water.

People from adjacent villages are also supporting the construction of the park. “There is no park for villagers. Most of the societies have a park built by the builder whereas every sector has a dedicated park made by the Noida Authority. This park will be a good addition for us,” said, Rameshwar Chaudhary, a villager.