Illegal parking lots galore in F’bad green belts

Bijendra Ahlawat

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Tribune News Service

Faridabad, August 14

The absence of a comprehensive drive against encroachments in the shape of illegal parking lots and constructions on green belts along main roads in the city has made the menace persist.

Even though the National Green Tribunal (NGT) passed an order to remove encroachments about seven years ago, the problem has not been solved, sources in the district administration claimed.

“The encroachments in the green belts, footpaths and stormwater drains have not only resulted in adverse impact of the greenery but also spiked the problem of waterlogging in various parts of the city during the monsoons,” said Varun Sheokand, an area resident who had raised the matter with the NGT way back in 2017.

He said though the NGT had directed the removal of all types of encroachments, including illegal parking lots within two weeks, the matter continues to remain a cause for concern in the wake of the poor response and the lack of an inclusive action plan by the department concerned. While a majority of the green belts along the main dividing roads in residential and industrial sectors were turned into concrete ones to make space for parking of the vehicles of employees and visitors, hardly any space was left for the plantation or the greenery in many areas, according to the complainant.

Though the agencies like the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) and the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) are responsible to make the green belts or open space area free of any encroachment, the problem remains unattended due to the lack of any initiative. The issue of the opening of the liquor vends in green belts would taken up by the NGT soon as these are not only illegal but also pose a threat to environment, said Sheokand.

KL Gera, a resident, said though two PILs had been filed in the high court over the issue, the authorities are yet to come out with a tough stance. Claiming that a majority of the stormwater drains and footpaths had also been encroached, Vishnu Goel, a resident, said this had led to the problem of waterlogging as the disposal network was blocked or non-functional . While the civic areas had been divided among various agencies like the MCF, HSVP and the FMDA (Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority), the buck regarding the removal of encroachments was allegedly passed on each other most of the time, it was claimed.

MCF Chief Engineer Birender Kardam said the removal of the encroachments from green belts and government land was a routine process and action was taken against the violation on a regular basis.

Lack of initiative

• Though the agencies like the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) and the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) are responsible to make the green belts or open space areas free of any encroachments, the problem remains unattended due to the lack of any initiative.
• While a majority of the green belts along the main dividing roads in residential and industrial sectors were turned into concrete ones to make space for parking of the vehicles of employees and visitors, hardly any space is left for the greenery in many areas.