THE GREEN BELT

The Green Belt Zone has broadly three main categories of uses, viz agriculture and
farming, forest and land regeneration and recreation Their develo!ment is designed to
!romote biodiversity enhancement, environmental management, land regeneration and
"ater management, "ith technology transfer of the above activities for "ider a!!lication
This "ill ma#e the Green Belt not only an asset for $uroville and the surrounding
villages, but also a National Resource %entre &NR%' for sustainable develo!ment
Agriculture and farming
The "estern !art of the Green Belt, consisting of eris, natural drainage channels and
village settlements, is reserved for intensive agricultural develo!ment The area involved
covers a!!ro(imately )*+ Ha $t !resent these lands are vacant or marginally used They
"ill be utilised to set u! !rototy!e farms for raising a!!ro!riate cro! categories that can
be efficiently !roduced in differing geogra!hic conditions in Tamil Nadu in order to
re!licate them for the benefit of farmers in those areas
$uroville,s ongoing "or# in "ater management, soil conservation, organic farming and
seed collection, "hich is being carried out in collaboration "ith -tate, national and
international research institutions and agencies, "ill !romote the !olicies of food security
and o!timisation of agro.economic !otential both locally and nationally
Forest and land regeneration
The eastern !art of the Green Belt, "hich has already been develo!ed "ith dense
!lantations of trees, acts as a barrier against cyclone.strong "inds coming from the coast,
"hich "ere till recently the main cause for soil erosion, gully formation and degradation
of land
These lands occu!y /)) Ha They "ill be utilised to strengthen the ongoing "or# of land
regeneration, re.establishing indigenous forest vegetation, !ro!agation of biodiversity
through gene !ools and seed ban#s, and instituting zero runoff !arameters and !ractices
This !art of the Green Belt "ill also !rovide the $uroville to"nshi! "ith o!!ortunities to
carry out "aste "ater treatment and recycling, solid "aste management and e(!eriments
for !roducing alternate energy through use of biomass and "astes 0n this regard
$uroville is collaborating "ith -tate and central government agencies
Recreation
1ne of the several !ur!oses of a Green Belt is also to !rovide o!en.air recreational
facilities for the inhabitants of $uroville and its visitors $n area of 2+3 Ha has been
designated for this !ur!ose, "hich "ill also include a modern crematorium !ar# as "ell
as agro. and social forestry for the benefit of neighbouring villages
What is Green Belt Land and Its Purpose
Green belt land refers to an area that is #e!t in reserve for an o!en s!ace, most often around
larger cities The main !ur!ose of the green belt !olicy is to !rotect the land around larger urban
centres from urban s!ra"l, and maintain the designated area for forestry and agriculture as "ell
as to !rovide habitat to "ildlife
Green belt offers a number of benefits for both urban and rural !o!ulation By !reventing the
urban s!ra"l, it hel!s !rotect agricultural activities and the uni4ue character of rural
communities 5rban !o!ulation, on the other hand, is !rovided an access to an o!en s!ace "hich
offers o!!ortunities for outdoor activities and an access to clean air
$reas that are designated as green belt must not be built u!on because green belt is defined as an
o!en s!ace, ho"ever, that does not mean that no buildings can be erected in green belt Buildings
for agricultural uses and sanitation facilities, for instance, are usually allo"ed 0n some cases, it
is also !ossible to change the use of land in green belt and even gain !ermission for structures
that are officially not allo"ed in green belt Ho"ever, such cases are very rare and the local
authorities grant !ermission only if no suitable site for the building can be found in the urban
centre or outside the green belt and there is an accessible business electricity source
Green belt !olicy may not "or# "ell in all areas and has been a sub6ect of criticism in the recent
years, ho"ever, its advantages by far out"eigh its disadvantages The 57 government therefore
encourages local authorities to !rotect the land around the to"ns by creating green belts $t the
moment of "riting, green belt land covers about 89 !ercent of total area in England, 8+ !ercent
in Northern 0reland and 2 !ercent in -cotland :ales has only one formally designated green belt
area "hich is located bet"een Ne"!ort and %ardiff
The 57 benefited a lot from green belts in the last /3 years because only 82; of the total area is
covered by forests ma#ing air 4uality and suitable "ildlife habitat highly !roblematic Things
have been changing for the better over the last fe" decades by using eco friendly heating by
charn"ood stoves or solar !anels, but the country is still lagging behind other Euro!ean
countries "hen it comes to !ercentage of forested land Green belts do not solve the !roblem
related to lo" forest cover in the 57 but they significantly im!rove air 4uality and hel! combat a
number of environmental !roblems