GURUGRAM: In Faridabad, of the 730 forest areas protected under Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), about 85 have been cleared of encroachments. “Demolition drives began on June 11, targeting 85 locations identified during the survey,” stated a senior forest official. The PLPA prohibits construction, encroachment, and tree felling in these forest areas.
“We are now focusing on larger structures like farmhouses. We’ve encountered resistance at certain sites, leading to two FIRs against individuals for damaging machinery and causing injuries,” he added. The Supreme Court, in its July 2022 ruling, mandated that all Aravali land protected under PLPA should be recognized as forest, subject to the Forest (Conservation) Act, thus necessitating the demolition of illegal structures.
Over 5,000 demolition notices have been issued to property owners in Faridabad as part of a crackdown on illegal constructions on protected forest land. This initiative is a collaboration between the forest department and district administration, currently utilizing six earthmovers and bulldozers.
Despite these clear instructions, Haryana has only demolished around 30 structures across four villages of Faridabad since the 2022 ruling. A ground-truthing survey conducted by the Haryana government in December 2023 uncovered a total of 6,793 unauthorized structures on protected land in these villages. Specifically, 5,948 of these structures were found in Anangpur, along with 339 in Ankhir, 313 in Lakkarpur, and 193 in Mewla Maharajpur. The majority of these are farmhouses and banquet halls.
The Supreme Court judgment in the Narinder Singh vs. Divesh Bhutani case was based on appeals from property owners challenging a 2013 National Green Tribunal (NGT) order that restricted any non-forest activities on PLPA-notified land in Anangpur. Another related appeal addressed notices for the removal of illegal farmhouses and banquet halls on forest lands in Anangpur, Ankhir, and Mewla Maharajpur.
The PLPA, enacted in 1990 to protect forest land, applies to ten districts in Haryana: Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Nuh, Gurugram, Palwal, Faridabad, Mahendergarh, Rewari, and Bhiwani.
