Villagers just protected a sacred forest outside India's polluted capital

The Mangar Bani forest of India, with its thick cover of trees and its dozens of chirping birds, wild leopards and rare species of insects and flowers, survived untouched for centuries because the local villagers believed it was a sin to cut its trees. But in recent years, Gurgaon — called “a suburb on steroids” — has experienced urban sprawl. An explosion of luxury condos, office buildings, tollways, malls and nightclubs are threatening to destroy hundreds of acres of the Mangar Bani forest. Real estate companies and residents argued in India’s National Green Tribunal, known as the green court: Is Mangar Bani a forest, farmland or just a bunch of arid rocks? They fortunately decided it was a forest, and a sacred one. Now, after almost six years of battles in court, government departments, and on the streets, citizens have managed to save the 677-acre Mangar Bani sacred grove from builders, even though developers own dozens of acres of forestland. The state government has declared it a no-construction zone. Environmentalists are wary though, because developers have attempted to carry out illegal logging there. The state forest department has deployed guards around the clock at an attempt to protect the sacred forest. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/villagers-just-protected-a-sacred-forest-outside-indias-polluted-capital/2016/04/26/f3a06eef-cd29-4389-a319-f345990ef126_story.html

Emily Alaimo