Aravali forest land of 250 acre encroached as per drone survey

The forest department conducted a drone survey that has revealed illegal encroachments on 250-acres of forest land in Gurugram. About 225-acre of land fall under the Punjab Land Conservation Act (PLPA), and the remaining 25-acre under the Aravali forest area. It was revealed after the forest department analysed the first drone survey of the Aravalli region. The survey was conducted on 27 August on 7,019 hectares of forest land. The drone survey was started on 7 August in Gurgaon, deploying four teams to carry out the drone survey. The owners of the illegal structures in the Aravalli region have been sent around 580 show-cause notices. On 23 July, the Supreme Court ordered the Haryana government to take action against illegal structures such as farmhouses, commercial buildings and religious structures during the demolition drive of the Khori village. Over 1,000 illegal structures are built in the Aravalli region, including farmhouses, nurseries, clusters, and slums. As per the survey of the forest department, the structures are present in Gwalpahari, Gairatpur Bas, Raisina, Sohna, and Manesar. About 38 villages in Gurgaon and 17 in Faridabad have identified land under sections 4 and 5 of the PLPA and Aravali. More than half of these districts are under sections 4 and 5 of the PLPA. Only these areas fall under the Aravali forest region, and the rest are not yet recognised as forest land by the government. Recently, the forest department carried out a demolition drive in Ghata. About 10-acres of forest land has been encroached upon by the illegal structures, falling under sections 4 and 5 of the PLPA. None of the forest activity is allowed in the region. In 2020, the forest department conducted a survey to evaluate encroachment in the forest area of Gurgaon. As per the report, about 500 farmhouses were illegally built in the Aravalli region. An overall list of the unauthorised structures was sent to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Sonya Ghosh vs Haryana state. The report also consists of the total area occupied by the owners and their locations. Kanwal Pal Gujjar, the Ministry of Forest, has told the media that 60 illegal farmhouses were built in the Aravali, 50 in Faridabad, and 10 in Gurgaon between 2000 to 2020. Image Source Also read: KMDA to build boundary walls to prevent illegal encroachment Also read: Andhra govt starts integrated land survey under land protection scheme