Banquet halls, recreational complexes in Aravallis seek clearance

These are projects that are located on land notified under section 4, and in some cases, section 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA). There are over 30 such project proposals that have applied for forest clearance this month.

Several banquet halls, recreational complexes and housing projects in Haryana’s Aravalli hills have applied for forest clearance, according to documents on the Parivesh website of the environment ministry accessed by HT.

Several banquet halls, recreational complexes and housing projects in Haryana’s Aravalli hills have applied for forest clearance (HT Photo)

These are projects that are located on land notified under section 4, and in some cases, section 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA). There are over 30 such project proposals that have applied for forest clearance this month.

Giving forest clearance to these projects would amount to regularising violations as they are not site-specific activities and can be done outside forest land as well, environmental experts said.

Most of the proposals are for projects located in Faridabad and cover less than 1-2 ha of forest land each. As per the forest conservation rules 2022, the proposals have been submitted with a justification for locating the project in forest land. For most proposals, the justification reads: “In this area there is no other recreational complex cum club and it will also help in conserving nature…and also help in eco-tourism and will generate employment in the area. It is the only piece of land owned by me…”

The Supreme Court in a July 21 judgment on the PLPA held that land covered by the special orders issued under Section 4 of the act will have all the trappings of forest land within the meaning of section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act,1980.

“Therefore, the state government or competent authority cannot permit its use for non-forest activities without the prior approval of the Central government with effect from October 25, 1980,” the apex court had said. Special orders under section 4 of PLPA are the restrictive provisions issued by the state government to prevent deforestation of a specified area that could lead to soil erosion.

A bench, headed by justices AM Khanwilkar, had shot down the Haryana government’s contention that PLPA has no connection with forests, and that the consequences of connecting the two would be disastrous because it would result in demolition of every building in 11 districts of Haryana, including Gurugram and Faridabad.

“There is no provision in the forest conservation act or rules to build commercial or residential properties on forest land. Projects like village roads, government school, power lines, etc., can be permitted depending on the need for such utilities, but if commercial and residential projects are approved, it will be a complete misuse of law,” said RP Balwan, a former forest conservator of Gurugram. “If any authority allows such projects, it will be against the law. However small in size, these structures are not site-specific.”

“The Centre will take a call on these projects. The state has no role to play in the final decision. We will assess each proposal first,” an environment ministry official said, seeking anonymity.

“A marriage or banquet hall or garden can come up anywhere. There is no site-specific reason that it should be built in the forest area. Further, Haryana has the lowest forest cover in the country at 3.6%, so it should try and restore its forests rather than allow construction in the same,” said Chetan Agarwal, a Gurugram-based forest expert. “Forests and Aravallis are also part of the natural conservation zone, as per the regional plan and the Faridabad master plan, which too doesn’t allow real estate and commercial activities.”