NGT seeks action on Aravali encroachments

GURUGRAM: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Haryana and Rajasthan governments to take prompt action to remove illegal constructions and encroachments in the Aravalis. The states have been given three months to submit their action taken reports.

The court was hearing a petition on Wednesday regarding illegal construction in ‘gair mumkin pahar’ of Aravalis hills in three Haryana districts — Faridabad, Nuh and Gurgaon — and Alwar in Rajasthan. A copy of the order was uploaded on Thursday.

NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the Haryana and Rajasthan chief secretaries to depute competent officers to oversee compliance of the order.

“The officer should be of the rank not below that of additional secretary and may monitor compliance by clearly understanding the scope of action to be taken so that this tribunal is not in the dark about the stand of the state. The nodal officers may file a compliance report after ascertaining all the facts within three months before the tribunal,” the NGT order said.

The next hearing in the matter is slated for January 28, 2022. In an affidavit filed on June 22, Rajasthan had mentioned the extent of encroachments and remedial action taken. For Haryana, several departments in Gurgaon, Nuh and Faridabad had similarly filed action taken reports on illegal construction in Aravalis. However, the NGT court said it expected a “consolidated reply” for the three districts “with details of further action”.

On illegal encroachment and violations in Ankhir and Mewla Maharajpur villages of Faridabad and in Nuh district, the tribunal said: “We find that action taken is not adequate nor is the information furnished complete. It is not clear whether the illegal constructions have been demolished, which is an important step in addition to initiating prosecution and issuing show cause notices.”

The court added that in their next affidavits, Haryana and Rajasthan can give details of proceedings pending in the Supreme Court.

In a recent drone survey by the forest department, it has been estimated that there are more than 1,000 illegal structures in the Gurgaon Aravalis, including farmhouses, nurseries, slums and clusters. The structures are concentrated in areas like Gwalpahari, Gairatpur Bas, Sohna, Raisina and Manesar. In the Faridabad Aravalis, illegal structures in Khori village were recently demolished during a drive by the municipal corporation. The matter in pending in the Supreme Court, with the next hearing scheduled for October 22.

Meanwhile, encroachments were also razed in Nalhar, Biwan and Ferozepur-Jhirka in Nuh and the forest area has been restored.