The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Faridabad Municipal Corporation is expected to complete the removal of unauthorised structures on Aravalli forest land in Khori Gaon before August 23 while reiterating that all unauthorised structures, including illegal farmhouses, will face the axe.
“If structures are in forest land, they will face action. If they are not in the forest land, they will not be demolished,†a Special Bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari clarified.
The court asked the municipal authorities to file a status report by August 25 on the demolition.
The court-ordered demolition covers about 10,000 unauthorised residential constructions encroaching into the forest land.
The court also asked the State of Haryana to expedite and finalise the rehabilitation policy for residents, preferably before the next date of court hearing.
The next hearing is scheduled for August 6 at 2 p.m.
The court asked the corporation to detail the outcome of the representations made by aggrieved residents regarding their rehabilitation in the status report.
The court asked the corporation to open an office in the Radha Soami campus where the displaced residents have been provided food and shelter. The Bench said this would help the residents and locals to easily access the authorities to air their grievances.
On June 7, the court had directed the Faridabad Municipal Corporation to “take all essential measures to remove encroachments on the forest land without any exceptionâ€. The court had categorically said that “land-grabbers cannot take the refuge of the rule of lawâ€.
On July 23, the court had given the Corporation a four-week extension to complete the demolition. Additional Advocate General of Haryana, Arjun Bhardwaj, had informed the court in July that 74 acres of land had been cleared.
