The town and country planning department (DTCP) on Saturday razed four illegal farmhouses that were being built around the reservoir area of Damdama lake in Sohna. A fifth could only be sealed because it was on the other side of the lake and out of the reach of bulldozers by road.
The demolition drive follows an order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to bring down eight structures built illegally on the eco-sensitive land. On Wednesday, a DTCP and police team had embarked on a 15-minute boat ride across the lake to seal three illegal farmhouses, including one owned by singer Mika Singh.
As part of the Saturday evening drive, the DTCP team demolished 17 structures and huts, boundary walls spanning 4km, road network and around 60 electric poles.
“We could not bring down one farmhouse because it was on the other side of the lake and could not be accessed by road. So, a team took a boat to the other end and sealed off the premises,” said Amit Madholia, the district town planner (enforcement).
The areas around the lake are part of the Aravalis and protected under sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act and the Aravali notification. Any kind of non-forest activity, like cutting of trees and constructions, is banned under the Environment Act of 1986.
“Construction on forest land or area covered by the Aravali notification is illegal and such forest land has to be recovered. In view of the above, any construction rose on the forest area or the area otherwise covered by notification dated 07.05.1992, without permission of the competent authority (after the date of the said notification) has to be treated as illegal and such forest land has to be restored,” the NGT had said in its 2020 order.
Despite the order, illegal constructions have been carried out around the lake. Sources in the department said these farmhouses came up in the last few years as the lake had partially dried up, giving the landowners a chance to transport construction material to the site.