Farmhouses & sports academy: Aravali land deforested, levelled and fenced off

Gurgaon: A year has passed, yet unauthorised construction within the Aravali plantation project area in Behrampur remains unaddressed, with new encroachments emerging.A visit to the area by TOI revealed that a substantial portion of the land has been deforested, levelled, fenced off and converted into compounds with boundary walls. Moreover, several new farmhouses have been built, and a cricket academy is operating in the area. Signs of recent bush burning to clear more land were also evident.The 35-acre area, identified under kharsa numbers L68/1 and L69, is just 1km off Golf Course Road Extension. The land is part of the Aravali plantation project, which is protected under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980. The FCA strictly prohibits felling of trees and any kind of construction on notified land. In May 2023, the forest department planned to demolish illegal structures in the area, and notices were even sent out to encroachers. But till now, no tangible action has been taken to tackle encroachment and mushrooming of illegal structures, environmentalists said.The Aravalis need to be monitored continuously because the land on which a large portion of the hills stand is owned by panchayats and individuals even though there are restrictions on construction and felling of trees, they pointed out. “It is surprising that forest land which already has protected status is getting encroached in Gurgaon. If this is happening to land which is covered under forest category, what chance do other areas, which are yet to be declared as forest, have?” questioned Sunil Harsana, an ecologist and wildlife expert.Former Gurgaon forest conservator RP Balwan said Haryana needs to strengthen norms against encroachments. “Why is govt failing to stop new encroachments on the protected Aravalis? Under PLPA, breaking of land is not allowed, so any kind of non-forest activity is illegal. The forest department and the district administration need to carry out regular surveillance in forest areas,” Balwan said.Asked why demolition drives are not being carried out, a forest official said they are “aware of the situation” and are working on it. “We carried out some demolitions in the area last year. We will get it checked and take corrective action soon,” said Rajeev Tejyan, divisional forest officer, Gurgaon.The Aravali plantation project, carried out in the 90s to revive around 33,000 hectares in six districts of Haryana, was notified under FCA after the Supreme Court ordered it to do so in a 2004 ruling. Haryana has just around 3.6% of its total categorised as forests — among the lowest for any state in India.In 2016, the forest department had said it would set up 52 security outposts with at least four guards each to protect 1 lakh hectares of the Aravalis in south Haryana. The department also recommended that an “Aravali protection task force” be formed. The project never saw the light of day.