GURUGRAM: The National Green Tribunal has issued notices to a real estate company, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF), the Haryana government, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), and the state pollution board regarding allegations of large-scale construction near the protected Wazirabad forest in Sector 54 of the city, without obtaining the necessary environmental permissions.
The tribunal has instructed the Centre, Haryana authorities, and the real estate firm to submit their responses before the next hearing scheduled for November 10.
A petition, accompanied by Google Earth images and photographs, reportedly shows construction activities on the boundary of the forest. Resident Ram Kishore Yadav, who filed the petition, claims that the project encompasses over 400,000 square meters within the Aravali hills, asserting that the developer commenced operations without the required environmental clearance as specified in the EIA Notification of 2006, or consent from the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB).
During a session on Tuesday, a bench led by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr. A Senthil Vel noted that the case raises significant concerns regarding compliance with environmental regulations.
The tribunal stated, “Issue notice to the respondents to file their response/reply by affidavit at least one week before the next hearing. Should any respondent submit a reply directly, bypassing their advocate, they are required to be present to assist the tribunal.”
When approached by TOI, an official from HSPCB stated that they had not yet received the order. “We will provide a reply in accordance with the order, but we have yet to receive the notice,” the official said. Environmentalists have long highlighted the threat of irreversible damage to the Wazirabad ridge, a critical part of Gurgaon’s last remaining Aravalis, due to unchecked urban development. Environmentalist Vaishali Rana emphasized, “Once the Wazirabad ridge is gone, it’s gone forever. You can’t replace a 700-million-year-old ecosystem. This isn’t merely a loss of trees; it signifies the elimination of Gurgaon’s last natural barrier against heat, floods, and water scarcity.”
