Despite order, Gurgaon civic body yet to conduct survey in Sikandarpur

Ten days have passed since the National Green Tribunal set a deadline for removal of encroachments at the Sikandarpur region of the Aravali hills, the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon has not yet started a survey to identify the illegal structures in the forest area.

Ten days have passed since the National Green Tribunal (NGT) set a deadline for removal of encroachments at the Sikandarpur region of the Aravali hills, the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has not yet started a survey to identify the illegal structures in the forest area.

HT Image

On March 14, NGT had ordered the corporation to remove all the illegal structures by March 28. These structures erected on the forest land at Sikandarpur include marble shops, hutments and a LPG godown.

According to a source, over 150 pucca structures, including 45 shop-cum-offices of marble dealers, are illegal. “The MCG has not carried out any survey to find out the structures, which are not allowed as per the forest rules,” the source said.

It’s surprising that not a single structure has been razed till date.

The NGT had passed the order on a petition filed by a Gurgaon resident against marble trading on the forest land. However, the tribunal did not ban marble trading in the area.

“It is clear that the authorities are not interested in removing the pucca structures as per NGT order,” alleged the complainant, wishing anonymity.

The order applied on the MCG as well as on the officials of the forest department.

“We will remove all the structures which are not allowed,” said Pankaj Goyal, chief forest conservator.

Despite repeated attempts, MCG joint commissioner Anju Chaudhary could not be reached for comment on the issue.