Farmhouses being built in protected Raisina Hills land

GURUGRAM: Construction of farmhouses has restarted in the Raisina hills, which fall under the Aravalis, about a month after the district administration restored the term ‘gair mumkin pahar’ (uncultivable hill) in revenue records and issued demolition notices to the farmhouses already built in the area.

A visit by TOI investigation has on Thursday revealed ongoing construction at two sites in Ansals Aravali Retreat in Raisina involving clearing of land and removal of vegetation. Trees were also found to have been cut down to widen a pathway.

The area in question falls under ‘gair mumkin pahar’ and is notified under Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), which prohibits tree felling. Under the Union environment ministry’s Aravali Notification, ‘gair mumkin pahad’ is protected land where construction of buildings, roads, electrification and cutting of trees is not permitted.

Construction has started despite the issuance of show-cause notices to the owners of several hundred farmhouses in the Raisina hills by the authorities. No action, however, has been taken on the ground to remove the illegal structures.

Acting on the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Gurugram administration had in June replaced the term ‘gair mumkin farmhouse’, which had insidiously found its way into the revenue records and helped farmhouse owners skirt provisions of the notification, which came into force in 1992, with the original term, ‘gair mumkin pahad’.

According to the forest department, there are around 1,500 acres of land in the ‘gair mumkin farmhouse’ category in revenue records, a significant portion of which is in Raisina.

When asked, the forest department clarified that the land falls under ‘gair mumkin pahad’. “As per our records, the area is gair mumkin pahar,” said a forest official.

According to the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), notices were served to the farmhouse owners and action will be initiated soon. “Action will be taken in due course,” an HSPCB official said.

An environmentalist said a district level committee was set up under an October 2018 NGT order for the removal of construction and restoration of forest areas. “But instead of that happening, the forest is being cleared and construction is underway. The district administration should demolish the construction immediately and focus their monsoon planting efforts in such sites to restore the forest. The committee should set up an effective mechanism with a public mobile helpline to deal with such instances so that they can be nipped in the bud,” said Vivek Kamboj, a city-based environmentalist.