Panchkula dera removed forest tree species: NGT joint panel

A joint committee, constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), has revealed that Radha Soami Satsang Beas Dera at village Bir Ghaggar in Panchkula felled forest tree species and removed them from the site.

The committee, headed by retired District and Sessions Judge BM Bedi, with members Satya Prakash Negi, Deputy Director General of Forests, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Conservator of Forests, North Circle, Ambala, Jitender Ahlawat, found out that the ministry diverted 40.34 hectare of forest land to the dera in 1998, and along with it 4,322 trees of different species and 1,128 saplings were also handed over.

The trees included 2,106 khair, 136 teak, 721 shisham, 199 eucalyptus, and 723 kikar. During a site visit on July 31, on the orders of the tribunal, the committee noted that commercial tree species like teak and horticultural trees of citrus fruits and other fruits had come up in different gardens and patches at the dera, while the native forest tree species were missing. Only a few scattered trees could be seen.

“The native forest tree species, as mentioned above, are largely missing as of date, which clearly indicates that these forest tree species have been felled and removed from the site. But, the exact number of trees felled cannot be ascertained at this point in time because the diverted land has been pulverised and levelled, and further developed into gardens of different sizes. There is no old stump visible on the ground in these gardens,” said the report.

It added, “Therefore, it is difficult to quantify the numbers of trees that were felled illegally at this point of time; but it is quite evident that composition of trees species presently growing on the said land is totally different from the trees which were handed over along with possession of land, which indicate felling of original trees and replacement with new species of commercial timber and horticultural crops.”

From the Google Earth imagery, which was available from 2009 onwards, the committee concluded that various patches of land had been cleared of natural vegetation even before 2009, and the land use plan has mainly remained the same since then, at least in terms of vegetation composition. “Hence the fact that felling of native forest tree species seems correct to the extent that present vegetation/tree species on said land is not the same which were handed over with the diverted land to the respondent no. 2 (dera) but, exact quantification of loss of native forest species is not possible as of date,” said the report.

While diverting the forest land to the dera in 1998, the ministry had imposed the condition that “forest land diverted shall be utilised for plantation of trees and no construction will be undertaken over this land.”

However, besides clearing natural tree species, the dera has also constructed specific structures and has further proposed building structures such as the ‘bal satsang shed’ and an extension of the ‘satsang shed’, resulting in a change in the layout, according to the report. The ministry’s regional office in Chandigarh had earlier, in its report dated August 29, 2024, told the NGT about the permanent construction of office buildings by the dera. Later, the dera had applied for ex-post facto approval for a change in layout.

The ministry had granted in-principle approval on January 21, 2025, and imposed a penal net present value of Rs 46.82 lakh, which the dera had deposited. The proposal is currently with the state government.

However, the committee pointed out that an iron shed, along with a concrete floor, has been further extended in recent months, which is a clear violation of the Forest Conservation Act.

It also found that of 100 acres, 15 acres have private houses of followers built in the form of a small unorganised colony.

Earlier, joint secretary of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, AVM DS Guram, had told the NGT, vide a reply dated September 11, 2024, that they had never cut any tree, rather more trees, and in an organised manner, have not been even planted but regularly cared for. He had added that the petition was filed as a counterblast to a trespass FIR filed against the applicant Gaurav Sharma. He had also termed the allegations qua illegal construction over the forest land as false.