Invited Talk - Ms Neelam Ahluwalia on ‘Aravalli Bachao Campaign’

Date : Wednesday, March 01, 2023
Time: 04:00 – 05:00 pm
Venue: Auditorium

Ms Neelam Ahluwalia delivered a talk on ‘Aravalli Bachao Campaign’ in the Audi on Wednesday March 01, 2023.  Talk was well attended by NUtons and NUrturers alike. It went well beyond the assigned time with students having a deep dialog with Ms. Ahluwalia and her colleague, Ms Jyoti Raghavan. The invitees were felicitated by Prof. Parimal V Mandke, Vice President, NU and Prof. Vijay V Mandke, Mentor Professor and Area Director, ET Area, NU. Maj. Gen. A. K. Singh, Dean Student Affairs & Chief Operations Officer thanked the guests for their insightful talk and discussions.

About Ms Neelam Ahluwalia

Ms Neelam Ahluwalia is a Post Graduate in Environment Management from the London School of Economics (2002), England and Mass Communication from Xavier’s Institute of Communication, Mumbai (1995). She started her professional life in 1995 as a television journalist reporting for an environment series called ‘Living On The Edge’ wherein she covered many urban and rural issues across the country. This program helped her understand the environment issues plaguing India. Over the last three decades, she has worn many hats professionally ranging from a Documentary Film Maker, Communications Consultant and Program Manager working for the NGO sector in areas of natural resource management, climate change adaptation, capacity building of rural community radio reporters, sustainable waste management, water conservation, etc.

Nature conservation has been her passion and area of work for the past 27 years. She is the Founder Member and Trustee of the Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement working to save the oldest mountain range in India and also volunteers her time for many other forest and environment campaigns across India. She loves working with students and inculcating the spirit of active citizenship and deep nature connect in the youth.

Brief introduction to the work of ARAVALLI BACHAO CITIZENS MOVEMENT

Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement started with just a few people from the National Capital Region in January 2019 and over the last 4 years, it has grown into a nationwide movement with citizens, foresters, conservationists, journalists from all over India and other countries supporting this campaign on Twitter and other social media platforms.

The purpose of this citizens movement is to raise awareness in the people about the importance of the Aravalli ecosystem and the threats it is facing and to sensitize the government, forest department and the administration to protect these forests.

Aravalli Bachao has been raising issues relating to Bandhwari landfill pollution & proposed waste incineration plant in the Aravallis, illegal mining & encroachments, dilution of forest laws like the 2022 citizens campaign asking for removal of environment related dilutions in the NCR Draft Regional Plan 2041.

The group has had significant traction in 2022 with two landmark judgements passed by the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal in favour of the Aravallis based on cases filed by the Aravalli Bachao Group. In November 2022, NGT directed the Haryana government to stop illegal mining in the NCR Aravallis. In July 2022, Supreme Court ruled that 30,000 hectares of areas identified under Special Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act will retain their “forest status” and illegal constructions in these forest areas in the Aravallis in South Haryana and Shivaliks near Chandigarh must be removed by the Government of Haryana.