Four illegal farmhouses in Aravallis razed, 4 more to be demolished soon

There was no opposition from the owners and the demolition drive was carried out peacefully with the help of two earth moving machines, said Karamvir Singh Malik, range officer, Gururgam, who carried out the demolition

The Haryana forest department on Tuesday demolished four farmhouses in Gwal Pahari village in the Aravallis, officials said, adding these farmhouses (ranging from 1 to 5 acres, totalling 14 acres) were constructed on forest land notified under sections four and five of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) Act without any permission from the competent authority.

A JCB machine demolishes a farmhouse in Gwal Pahari village on the Gurugram-Faridabad road on Tuesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

“There was no opposition from the owners and the demolition drive was carried out peacefully with the help of two earth-moving machines. The landowners were given show-cause notices earlier to clear the structures as these were constructed in violation of rules. But since they did not do so, we had to take action,” said Karamvir Singh Malik, range officer, Gururgam, who carried out the demolition.

The farmhouses were demolished in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court, which had directed the Haryana government in July to clear all constructions and encroachments in the forests of Aravallis, said officials.

Malik said the team reached the spot at 12pm and used earth-moving machines to demolish the buildings and boundary walls. Eight structures had been built on these farmhouses along with the boundary walls, said officials. There are four to five more such illegal farmhouses in the same area which will be demolished soon, they added.

On October 20, the forest department demolished three farmhouses in Gwal Pahari and on October 19, it razed six illegal farmhouses in the same area, said officials.

Apart from the Supreme Court, the National Green Tribunal (NGT ) on September 22, 2021, also directed the Haryana and Rajasthan governments to remove encroachments and illegal construction in the Aravallis. In its latest direction dated December 9,NGT asked the chief secretaries of both states to review the action taken in this matter quarterly.

According to the forest department’s estimates, there are 500 illegal farmhouses in the Aravallis.