New Delhi, June 17 -- There would be no dilution of protections applicable to the ecologically fragile Aravalli range, Union housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Tuesday after a meeting of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB), where the long-pending Regional Plan 2041 was cleared for approval. The issue has been particularly contentious with strong opposition over an earlier draft, released in 2022, replacing the term "Natural Conservation Zone" (NCZ) - mentioned in the 2021 plan - with "Natural Zone". Environmentalists had said the change meant that conservation was no longer important in the NCR Regional Plan, putting the Aravallis, forest areas, and all water bodies at risk. Speaking after the meeting at Vigyan Bhawan, Khattar, who is also the NCRPB chairperson, said, "There will be no change of any kind in decisions already given by the NGT (National Green Tribunal), Supreme Court, high courts or the ministry of environment." "Sometimes, it is not clear from satellite imagery whether this green cover is forest or merely appears green. Ground proofing has to be done to establish the factual position on the ground," he said. The minister added that reports from Delhi and Haryana were still awaited while Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan had already submitted theirs. However, experts said, lack of ground-truthing of the NCZ or protection of the Aravallis directly under the plan, leaves scope for further encroachments and mining. Prakriti Srivastava, retired IFS officer, who has served as the deputy inspector general of forests (wildlife) in the Union environment ministry, said that by not explicitly commenting on the Aravallis, the NCR Planning Board (NCRPB) further leaves the onus on a Supreme Court appointed Committee, she said....