Forest department issues notices to 23 farmhouse owners in Faridabad Aravalis

GURUGRAM: The forest department of Faridabad has issued show-cause notices to 23 farmhouse owners for illegal construction in the Mewla Maharajpur area of the Aravali on Friday. The notices were served as per the directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT) to restore forests in the Aravalis.

The owners have been asked to reply within 10 days, following which the department will demolish the properties. Earlier this week, it served notices to the owners of 20 farmhouses in Ankhir, which also includes the HSVP Gymkhana Club in Sector 21and Ankhir police chowki.

The NGT’s direction to the state government came during a hearing of a petition on illegal construction in the Aravalis, a case that has been going on since 2013 when the court took suo moto cognizance of a TOI report. It later became the Sonya Ghosh vs State of Haryana case.

After the order, the department conducted a survey, and it was found that 123 farmhouses had been built in Mewla Maharajpur, Ankhir, Anangpur and Mangar areas of the Aravalis.

Some parts of sectors 45 and 21C also fall in the Aravalis and were developed in violation of the rules, the survey found. The department plans to issue notices to the remaining owners next week.

A senior state forest department official said restoration of forests in Mewla Maharajpur, Ankhir and Anangpur means that all unauthorised farmhouses built in the area in violation of a government notification issued in 1992 would have to be razed. “We have submitted a detailed report on the violations in the area and have also rectified the revenue records. Farmhouses built after 1992, without permission, will be demolished,” he added.

“After the NGT directions, we first conducted a survey in Faridabad areas and are now serving the notices. Around 50% of the farmhouses have a court stay, either from the district court or high court. Now, the department is seeking legal opinion from the attorney general to move the court concerned and inform them about the NGT’s directions, so that further action can be taken,” Faridabad district forest officer (DFO) Raj Kumar said. “We will carry out a demolition drive if the farmhouse owners fail to submit a response,” the official added.