Haryana, Gurugram MC to file affidavit on 'illegal' construction activity in Aravalli hills

Saurabh Malik
Chandigarh, December 19

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Less than four months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court made clear its intent to consider the plea for constituting a fact-finding committee to undertake physical verification of illegal constructions in the Aravallis, the state and the Gurugram municipal corporation have been given time till January 16 to file a status report.

Status reports

The status reports will include specific affidavits in respect of the submission made by counsel for the petitioners that in spite of the interim orders passed by the court, illegal construction is being undertaken in the Aravallis.

Among other things, the two will specify their stand on the allegations of unauthorised/illegal construction in the hills, in spite of the HC orders. As the case came up for resumed hearing before the Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli, an additional advocate-general and the counsel for the respondent-MC prayed for time to file the status reports.

The Bench was also told that the reports would include “specific affidavits in respect of the submission made by counsel for the petitioners that in spite of the interim orders passed by this court, unauthorised/illegal construction is being undertaken in the Aravallis.”

In August, the Bench had made clear its intent to consider the plea for constituting the panel under a retired HC judge after PIL-petitioner Harinder Dhingra alleged that “more than a kilometre road had been constructed illegally only to facilitate the construction being undertaken by an ex-minister and former MLA”.

The counsel for the petitioner, KS Khehar, had submitted that unauthorised construction in the Aravallis continued unabated, contrary to the status report submitted by the respondent-authorities of the state by way of an affidavit dated August 18 by Haryana Under-Secretary, Forests and Wildlife Department, Amita Ahuja.

Referring to the road, he added that the affidavit filed by the state was factually incorrect as even today construction was going on. He had also prayed for initiating proceedings against the state authorities filing such affidavits.