SMC seeks district admin’s help to prevent illegal encroachments in Aravallis

After razing illegal encroachments from Raisina village in the Aravallis, the Sohna Municipal Council (SMC) will now write to the Gurugram administration seeking help to prevent new encroachments there, officials said on Sunday

After razing illegal encroachments from Raisina village in the Aravallis, the Sohna Municipal Council (SMC) will now write to the Gurugram administration seeking help to prevent new encroachments there, officials said on Sunday. Last week, the SMC had razed nine illegal constructions built in farmhouses in the Aravallis.

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Sandeep Malik, executive officer, SMC, said, “We will write to the district administration, seeking cooperation from all departments concerned to stop fresh illegal encroachments in the Aravallis. The farmhouses that are already constructed have electricity and water connections but are illegal as those have been built on the Aravalli land. Because of other connections available with them, it becomes difficult for us to demolish these illegal structures.”

He added that “monitoring becomes easy” if other departments like forest, power, water, and revenue also keep a check on such illegal encroachments. The letter is being drafted and will be sent this week.

The SMC has been receiving complaints of fresh encroachments, such as construction of walls, in the past two months, Malik added. Earlier this month, the authority had sent notices to 15 such farmhouse owners, and nine of the structures were demolished last week.

According to records submitted in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), there are 434 illegally constructed farmhouses in the Aravallis in Gurugram.

During the lockdown due to the second wave of Covid-19 in the past two months, cases of encroachments have increased in the Aravallis of Gurugram and Faridabad. Gurugram forest department officials say every week, they receive an average of two complaints of fresh illegal encroachments being made in the Aravallis.

Recently, the forest department closed an illegal route constructed through the forest near Damdama in the Sohna forest range. The department has also formed a 30-member team to check illegal encroachments in the region.