Sumedha Sharma
Tribune News Service
Gurugram, January 20
Following the complaint, a team visited the spot. However, there is no evidence of tree felling. The land in question is a private property belonging to two brothers who have divided it by using barbed wire fencing. We cannot interfere. — Subhash Yadav, Divisional Forest Officer.
In yet another case of official apathy towards the eco-sensitive Aravallis, over 400 trees have allegedly been felled illegally and forest land encroached upon for the construction of a colony spread over 15 acres at Behalpa village on the Damdama road here.
The matter came to light after some environmentalists visited the site. They have written to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Haryana, seeking immediate action. “Last week, we visited the site in the forest area of Behalpa and found around 15 acres under plantation in the Aravallis having been encroached upon on the Damdama Lok Marg road.
Images of the area will reveal how the forest cover has eroded and water body has shrunk to its one-third. Officials plead ignorance while they are duty-bound to keep all forest activity in check. There is a need to revive the Aravallis Task Force, bring back check-posts, increase forest guard strength and use of drones to patrol the area. — Vaishali Rana, an environmentalist
.
The area falls under mustil No. 17, 18 and 24 of Aravalli plantation. Hundreds of trees have been felled, hill area levelled using machinery, plotted, and fenced off using barbed wire. On land under mustil No. 24, a 12 ft boundary wall has been erected along with a room. Machinery has been used here to level earth and the area cordoned off by a concrete wall,” reads the letter.
The complainants — Vaishali Rana, Vivek Kamboj, Col SS Oberoi, PN Singh, Col Santpal Raghav, Roma Jaiswal, Zenith Choudhary and Manesar former sarpanch Ramavtar Yadav — accused forest officials concerned of lack of will to protect the Aravallis in Gurugram and Faridabad.
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