The forest department of Faridabad has sent show-cause notices to the owners of more than 130 structures built illegally in the eco-sensitive Aravalis. The move comes after the Supreme Court on July 23 ordered the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) not to spare any illegal structures in the Aravalis, including farmhouses, commercial establishments and religious structures, during the ongoing demolition drive in Khori village.
he owners have been given time to demolish their structures till Monday.
More than 130 notices were issued to owners of illegal structures in Faridabad Aravali areas earlier this week by the forest department. They have been given time till Monday to demolish the structures on their own. In case they fail to do so, the administration will raze the structures. Meanwhile, the forest department is carrying out a drone survey in the protected area. “We will still conduct the survey for another two days for identifying illegal structures in the Aravalis,” said Raj Kumar, the Faridabad district forest officer.
As many as seven teams comprising district administration and forest department officials are carrying out the survey, which will cover 5,430 hectares of forest areas. Illegal structures have been found in 500 hectares as of now. Forest minister Kanwal Pal Gujjar had last year said a total of 60 illegal farmhouses were constructed in the Aravalis — 50 in Faridabad and 10 in Gurgaon — between 2000 and 2020.
In the Supreme Court hearing, the farmhouse owners’ lawyer had pointed out that some of the farmhouses are not in forest areas, but on private land. To this, the apex court had questioned why these owners needed representation if their properties are not on forest land. It had then directed all these owners to submit their land records with MCF.