Gurugram: Nine illegal farmhouses in Aravalli Hills demolished

GURUGRAM: As many as nine illegal farmhouses built in the forested Aravalli Hills region at Raisina village here were razed by a team from the Municipal Council of Sohna on Wednesday.

The demolition drive was carried out at nine illegal farmhouses which included a boundary wall, teen shades and pillar.

It was done in compliance with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order in December 2020, which had instructed that all the illegal farmhouses on forest land in the Aravalli Hill region be demolished by January 31.

A similar drive against unlawful structures in Manesar had been conducted on January 29 by Gurugram’s forest department.

According to the officials, the drive started at 1 p.m. and it took several hours to raze the nine illegal structures with the help of earthmovers. Apart from the Municipal Council officials, 100 police personnel were also present at the spot.

“Earlier a demolition notice was served to the owners of these illegal structures. Two of the farmhouse owners claimed they have some legal documents of their properties so we have given them two days to produce those documents. More action against such illegal structures will be conducted next week after an appointment of a duty magistrate,” Praveen Raghav, an official of the Municipal Council of Sohna, told IANS.

As per a recent forest department survey, there are at least 500 such farmhouses built illegally on Aravalli land in Gurugram, concentrated in areas like Gwal Pahari, Gairatpur Bas, Sohna and Manesar.

“An action was initiated as per the order of the NGT. Cases of some farmhouses are pending in court. Except them, others will be demolished soon as per the norms,” the officer added.