Temple area to be among 8 new green belts in Shimla
Pratibha Chauhan
Shimla, November 22
The eight new green belts that the state government plans to carve out in Shimla city include the Shiv Bowri Mandir area near Summer Hill where 22 people were buried alive in a massive landslide on August 14 following heavy rain. The new green belts have been proposed to curb haphazard construction activity in and around the capital city.
Proposed green belts
Rashtrapati Bhawan, Mashobra, Band Tukda, Andri; Shiv Mandir, Andri; Tal and Giri, demarcated ‘protected forest’ in Khalini and the Parimahal area.
The government has decided to bring more areas under green cover where construction will be banned perhaps considering the death of 22 people in the landslide that demolished the Summer Hill temple. The new addition to the existing 17 belts will enhance the green cover in and around Shimla.
The Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department will soon carve out the new belts that the Cabinet had approved on November 18. “The new eight green belts will be carved out around the Retreat, the area around the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Mashobra, Band Tukda, Andri; Shiv Mandir, Andri; Tal and Giri, demarcated protected forest (DPF) in Khalini and the Parimahal area. These will be no-construction zones and the norms applicable to the existing 17 green belts will also apply to these,” said Davesh Kumar, Principal Secretary, Town and Country Planning.
The new areas to be brought under green cover have some of the most pristine deodar forests, including the one in the catchment area of Mashobra. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had pointed towards massive construction near the Summer Hill temple that was devastated in the landslide.
The existing 17 green belts spread over 414.36 hectares were carved out in December 2000. Sources in the TCP Department revealed that the decision to bring more areas under green cover was expedited in view of large-scale damaged caused due to reckless construction at several places in Shimla.
