Green court asks MCG for plan to clear encroachments in Palam Vihar green belts

The petitioner had approached the court against the encroachment of green belts on both sides of the roads as well as in front of plots and homes in Palam Vihar

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) to prepare an action plan for clearing encroachments of green spaces in Palam Vihar and take action within one month.

Officials said that a private school, roadside vendors and people running food stalls have encroached a one-kilometre stretch. (HT Archive)

The green court issued the directions last week while hearing a petition filed by a resident, Vineet Yadav.

While taking a note of concretisation of areas around trees, a bench headed by NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel ordered, “...this Tribunal has already directed removal of concretisation within one-metre radius of the trunk of trees so that growth of the trees is not obstructed, we direct the municipal corporation, Gurugram, to take appropriate action in the matter in coordination with the forest department, Gurugram.”

The bench further said that a joint meeting should be held within one month and an action plan prepared for the purpose. “Thereafter, further action be taken in accordance with law,” the order stated.

The petitioner had approached the court against the encroachment of green belts on both sides of the roads as well as in front of plots and homes in Palam Vihar. According to the petitioner, encroachments have come up on a long strip of green belt along the Gurgaon-Delhi railway track at Palam Vihar.

Officials said that approximately a one-kilometre stretch of the green belt is encroached upon by a private school, roadside vendors and people running food stalls.

Jitendra Kumar, the joint commissioner of MCG’s Zone 2, where Palam Vihar falls, said, “In the past few months, we have been taking action on encroachments regularly, but still, many encroachments by small vendors are standing on the green belt. We will be following the orders of the NGT and have written to Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) today (Monday) also to conduct a joint mega drive within the next 15 days to remove all encroachments.”