Three farmhouses razed by forest department in Gwal Pahari, 10 more to go

The Haryana forest department on Thursday demolished three farmhouses in the Gwal Pahari area adjacent to the Gurugram-Faridabad Expressway, officials said, adding they had demolished six illegal farmhouses in the same area on Tuesday as well.

According to forest officials, these demolitions were carried out in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court in July this year. The court had directed that structures constructed on land the land covered by the special orders issued under Section 4 of Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) have all the trappings of forest lands within the meaning of Section 2 of the Forest Act. It also directed the state government to clear any non-forest activity from such land and to demolish illegal structures.

To be sure, National Green Tribunal last year had also directed the Haryana and Rajasthan governments to remove illegal constructions in the Aravallis. The forest department has estimated that there are at least 500 farmhouses built illegally in the Aravallis.

“Three farmhouses spread over 10 acres were demolished by the forest department team on Thursday. These farmhouses were illegal and built in contravention of the law. The owners were issued notices earlier. There are 10 more such illegal farmhouses that will be demolished in the area in coming days,” said Karamvir Singh Malik, district range officer, forest department.

Malik said that the demolition was carried out by a team of 10 forest range personnel with the support of 50 Gurugram police personnel. “We did not face any opposition as these farmhouses are being demolished as per law,” he said.

Forest officials said they used earth-moving machines to demolish the farmhouses, adding that one of the farmhouses demolished on Thursday belonged to a former Supreme Court judge.