Week after it was razed, wall comes up in Aravalis

GURUGRAM: A week after the forest department demolished an illegal wall, allegedly put up by land mafia in the Aravalis in Raisina, construction has resumed.
Between last Monday and Friday, TOI observed first-hand construction of around 100m of the wall being carried out near a pit in Block C of Raisina. The wall is reportedly the boundary of a farmhouse. The department had razed the wall after TOI reported the illegal construction on December 18.

Construction workers on site said the land owner had asked the contractor to restart work. “Work had halted for about 3-4 days, after the authorities demolished it. The contractor has told us such demolitions will happen from time to time, but we can carry out construction afterwards,” said a labourer, requesting anonymity.

Locals fear all the trees on the slope (near the pit) will be felled as soon as the wall is built. “Nobody will ever come to know of the violation, as the wall will restrict view from all sides. This is how land is cleared for illegal construction in Raisina,” said a villager.

A forest official said, “We inspected the area and immediately brought down the construction two weeks ago, even though the area doesn’t fall under sections 4 and 5 of PLPA, ie, it isn’t under jurisdiction of the forest department. The area is under Aravali Notification, 1992, which makes Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) the concerned department. They should now take action.” A senior HSPCB official said, “We’ll soon inspect the area and take strict action against the offenders.”

Last week, TOI had highlighted how a mushrooming business of property dealers is behind a rise in the number of environmental violations in the Gurugram Aravalis.

To encroach upon land for a farmhouse in Raisina, the modus operandi is to first build a boundary wall to restrict view of the plot. Trees within it are then cleared.