Houses in Jamai Colony, set up on Aravalli land, to be razed

Around 300-400 houses are constructed in Jamai Colony on Aravalli forest land; eviction notices have been issued to residents

Faridabad agencies are gearing up to clear illegal houses constructed in Jamai Colony over five acres of Aravalli land, on the lines of a demolition drive in Khori village that was recently completed, officials said on Sunday. Around 300-400 houses are constructed in Jamai Colony in violation of norms, officials said.

Following directions from the Supreme Court, illegally constructed houses on Aravalli land in Khori village were demolished. (HT Archive)

Following the recent orders of the Supreme Court, in which Faridabad agencies were directed to clear all illegal encroachments from forest land, a four-member team of the Faridabad Police inspected the area on Saturday. Officials said that notices have been sent to around 300-400 families living in the area.

“A team has already visited the area on Saturday and asked residents to vacate within three to four days. Notices have already been given to the residents there by the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) for vacating the area before demolition starts. The colony is set up on MCF land and demolitions are likely to start next month,” a senior official of the Faridabad Police said, requesting not to be named.

Officials said that a team of the Urban Local Body (ULB) had started a demolition drive in the colony in 2019, but it was stopped following protests by residents.

In the third week of July, the Supreme Court, while hearing a case about the illegal constructions in Khori village of Faridabad, observed that “the direction to remove all unauthorised structures standing on the forest land applies to all such structures without any exception.”

After the court issued directions, the forest department started preparations to raze all illegal structures, including farmhouses, banquet halls and institutes, constructed on forest land. Until now, 10 farmhouses that were set up in the Aravallis have been demolished in Faridabad, officials said.

Last week, MCF told the Supreme Court that it has removed all structures in the Khori Village that came up on 150 acres of Aravalli forest land, along with 10 of the 140 illegal farmhouses “acting without exception while taking action against encroachments.”