1 week Ago By Ipsita Pati
Gurgaon: Walls are being constructed, trees were felled, and vast patches of land are being levelled using earthmovers in Raisina Hills. Workers are busy laying stones, while tractors laden with boulders from the Aravalis traverse the area. This flurry of illegal activities is underway in several areas even though the land is protected under the Aravali notification , a visit by TOI has revealed.
Along the Raisina road towards B-block, new gates have been installed, and tractors are transporting boulders to a two-acre plot earmarked for construction. The site was cleared of 15-20 trees, with ongoing excavation work. Workers and guards appeared uninformed about restrictions.
"The sale and purchase of land is proceeding smoothly. There were some demolitions last month, but these do not deter new construction activities," said Abhay, a guard deployed near the B-25 farmhouse. On G road too, construction went on with workers building a guard room near G 21 (A).
Tree felling was evident on E-road, with new walls built along it. Raisina residents voiced concerns about ongoing construction activities. "There is persistent movement of heavy vehicles carrying stones from Aravalis Hills.
It generates substantial noise. Furthermore, widespread construction destroyed the fodder we utilised for our cattle," said Ashok, a Raisina resident. The 1992 Aravali notification restricts building construction, wall erection, road development, and tree felling in protected areas without authorisation.
Non-forest activities are prohibited on ‘gair mumkin pahad' land. The Union environment ministry's notification designates ‘gair mumkin pahad' (uncultivable land) as protected territory where construction, electrification, and tree removal require permission. On Dec 9, 2022, NGT instructed Haryana and Rajasthan govts to set up monitoring committees for quarterly reviews of encroachment clearance in ‘gair mumkin pahar' areas in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Nuh, and Alwar.
The district administration carried out demolitions on Nov 13, but unauthorised activities still persist. The tribunal also instructed chief secretaries of both states to ensure compliance with the directions. The directives were issued by the NGT bench comprising Chairman Adarsh Kumar Goel, Judicial Member Sudhir Agarwal, and Expert Members A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad.
According to a forest department survey, at least 500 farmhouses were constructed illegally on Aravali land in Gurgaon, concentrated in areas like Gwalpahari, Abheypur, Gairatpur Bas, Sohna, Raisina, and Manesar. In Sept 2021, NGT ordered govts to remove illegal structures and restore forest land, apart from submitting action-taken reports. A detailed list of these structures was submitted to the tribunal in the Sonya Ghosh vs State of Haryana case in 2022.
The report included details of the total area occupied and their locations. The district administration in 2020 replaced the term ‘gair mumkin farmhouse', which surreptitiously entered revenue records and aided farmhouse owners in circumventing provisions of the Aravali notification, with the original term, ‘gair mumkin pahad'. Environmentalists said despite various demolition drives, the area continues to witness encroachments on a massive scale.
"The area is environmentally sensitive. It's a leopard habitat and corridor. Tree felling and land clearing are the first steps towards construction.
It will lead to a reduction in forest cover and block wildlife movement. Clearly, demolition drives that target only a few properties are not deterring new construction," said forest analyst Chetan Aggarwal. "We require a robust mechanism to monitor sensitive zones of the Aravalis and ensure these wildlife corridors remain undisturbed.
There was an increase in man-animal conflicts as trees are being felled and forest areas are being transformed into urban spaces," said Vaishali Rana, an environmental activist..
