In line with directions issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 9th December 2022, all illegal structures constructed on protected Aravali Forest land in Gairatpur Bas, Haryana will be cleared this week. The NGT has directed the Haryana and Rajasthan governments to destroy all illegal structures that have been erected on land protected under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Protection Act (PLPA), 1900. All requisite notices have been issued and ample warning has been given to those who have constructed these structures.
In line with directions issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 9th December 2022, all illegal structures constructed on protected Aravali Forest land in Gairatpur Bas, Haryana will be cleared this week. The NGT has directed the Haryana and Rajasthan governments to destroy all illegal structures that have been erected on land protected under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Protection Act (PLPA), 1900. All requisite notices have been issued and ample warning has been given to those who have constructed these structures.
According to official estimates released by the Forest Department, over 1,000 illegal structures have been built on Aravali Forest land in Gurugram alone. These include nurseries, slums, farmhouses and residential clusters in areas such as Gairatpur Bas, Sohna, Raisina, Gwalpahari and Manesar. In December last year, the NGT instructed the state governments of Haryana and Rajasthan to destroy all illegal structured built on land that has been classified as ‘gair mumkin pahar’. Both state have been instructed to set up a monitoring committee to conduct periodic reviews until all illegal structures are removed. The tribunal has also asked chief secretaries of both states to ensure compliance with the directions.
The NGT efforts to clear the Aravali Forest of all illegal structures first began after TOI published a story in 2013 titled "How Private Players Acquired Forest Land in the Aravalis." It launched several investigations which eventually led to the destruction of numerous illegal structures in the Haryana and Rajasthan. In September 2021, it issued directives to the state governments of Rajasthan and Haryana to speed up their efforts to remove illegal structures after the court herd a plea from a Delhi resident who claimed that there had been illegal construction in the "gair mumkin pahar" region. Between December 2021-2022, the Sohna Municipal Committee destroyed over 400 illegal structures in the region.
Advertisement
Facebook
Whatsapp
