Gurgaon: Around an acre of Aravali land has been cleared of trees in Bandhwari on Saturday and Sunday. More than 10 trees — mostly mesquites (Prosopis juliflora) — have been felled and a portacabin has been placed in an apparent bid to encroach upon the land.
“I saw this patch of land without any tree. I also spotted some uprooted trees, a portacabin and marks of an earth moving machine in the area. It is clearly an attempt to encroach upon the land,” said Sunil Hasrana, a resident of neighbouring Mangar village. Locals said many illegal commercial activities, including setting up of dhabas and small restaurants, are generally involved in such environmental violations.
“Over the past couple of years, we have noticed encroachers cutting trees to clear the area. The area is then either given on rent to dhaba owners, or they run restaurants and food joints in the encroached area. They see dhabas as a profitable venture as the land is close to the highway,” said Hasrana.
Environmental experts expressed their concerns as trees were felled to encroach on the land falling under yet-to-be-decided category of the natural conservation zone (NCZ).
"Aravali areas are either confirmed forests or yet-to-be-decided forests. On one hand, the state has delayed forest identification for 22 years, and on the other, real estate and commercial interests are inflicting injuries to Aravalis. We need a helpline to report such instances so that they can be tackled effectively," said Chetan Agarwal, an environmental analyst..
Some alleged that encroachment over forest land had increased in the last one year. Jitender Bhadana of Save Aravalis, who had several times written to the department about encroachment attempts in the Aravalis, said, “Most such attempts are made over weekends and during the night as encroachers know that movement of people will be less during the weekends. The authorities, on the other hand, are least bothered. Encroachment attempts have increased over last one year, but the department didn’t file any complaints.”
A forest department official said the land that fell under the jurisdiction of MCG but corporation officials were unaware about any encroachment attempts. “So far, we have not received any complaint about encroachment attempts in Bandhwari. We will inspect the area and a strict action will be taken in case any encroachment bids are noticed,” said a corporation official.