SC ordered demolition of illegal structures, Haryana now seeks relaxations from MoEF

GURGAON: Last year, the Supreme Court had directed demolition of all illegal structures built in forest areas that are protected under special orders of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1990. This order is yet to be implemented, and in the meantime, the Haryana government is moving to regularise them.
The state this February wrote to the Union environment ministry, seeking relaxation in following guidelines of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, for areas affected by the SC judgment in Narender Singh & Others Vs. Divesh Bhutani & Others case.

Environmentalists allege that the government’s request is yet another attempt to erode protections and allow encroachments on forest land, including the Aravalis.
In July 2022, the top court had ruled that land notified under Section 4 (special orders) of PLPA should be treated as forests, where provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act would be applicable. Sections 4 and 5 of PLPA bar non-forest activities without permission.
The ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC), in its response to the state government on March 6, made it clear that a blanket relaxation can’t be given, but it may consider case-to-case exemptions.
“The proposals for diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes are considered on a case-to-case basis in light of extant rules and guidelines related to Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Therefore, a general exemption in para 1.15 of guidelines cannot be given as each case is required to be considered and decided on its merit,” a letter by Suneet Bhardwaj, assistant inspector general of forests, reads. TOI has a copy of the letter.
To assess these cases, the Union ministry has asked the government to come up with a list of land that was notified under sections 4/5 of the PLPA but where non-forestry activities were allowed. The government now has to categorise land under four sections:
1) Land for which project approval was granted by competent authority before October 25, 1980, or when land use was changed to allow non-forestry activity before October 25, 1980 (this was the date FCA came into effect).
2) Land for which approval was granted before Sections 4/5 of PLPA were introduced in 1990.
3) Land where approval was given in line with development plan/master plan before SC passed its order dated 18.3.2004. (The order also said land under PLPA sections 4/5 are forests and barred mining in the Aravalis)
4) Cases not falling in one or more of the above categories.
Normally, FCA rules are relaxed to allow activities related to conservation, development and management of forests and wildlife. For instance, to install check-posts, fire lines, wireless communication and so on.
After the apex court’s 2022 order, a survey last December had found that 6,793 illegal structures – mostly banquet halls and residential settlements – had been built on protected PLPA land in four villages of Faridabad. A majority of these were in Anangpur village (5,948) and the remaining in Ankhir, Lakkarpur and Mewla Maharajpur.
A similar exercise in another 10 districts of Haryana, including Gurgaon, which have land notified under PLPA, has not been carried out. A large chunk of PLPA land, including that in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Nuh, are also part of the Aravali hills.
In the demolition ruling, the Supreme Court had asked the government to submit a compliance report by October 21, 2022. The government later sought an extension and was granted time till February 21, 2023.
When asked, Haryana chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal said the matter was subjudice. “We have submitted the report to the Supreme Court regarding this case. As the matter is subjudice, we cannot share details of the report and the replies,” he said.
Haryana additional chief secretary (forest and wildlife) Vineet Garg could not be reached for comment till Tuesday evening.
Activists decried the government’s move and said it was a way to regularlise encroachment.
“When banquet halls and other commercial establishments in the Aravalis are concerned, the state has delayed demolition and is seeking blanket reqularisation. It is even more concerning that the MoEFCC is willing to consider granting approval on a case-by-case basis,” said Lt Col retd SS Oberoi, a Gurgaon-based environmentalist.
In 2019, Haryana had also passed a bill in the assembly to lift PLPA protections from the Aravali foothills, but that was not notified.