Crackdown on farmhouses on Chandigarh periphery, 100 owners get notices

To ensure adherence to the ecotourism regulatory framework, the Punjab Government has issued notices to owners of nearly 100 farmhouses on the periphery of Chandigarh. Among those served notices are several influential figures, including prominent politicians and former IAS and IPS officers.

The Ecotourism Development Committee (EDC), which is headed by the Secretary of Tourism, has asked the farmhouse owners to appear before it on March 17 and provide relevant record. The committee will assess whether the farmhouses comply with the Eco Tourism Policy 2019 and decide on granting permissions accordingly.

The EDC includes representatives from the Forest, Tourism, Local Government, and Housing Departments, among others. The farmhouses are located in Karoran, Nada, Parch, Jayanti Majri, Seonk, Nagal, Parol, Sultanpur, Siswan, Majra, Dulwan, Palanpur, Murzapur and 2023 and 3,062 in 2024 while Himachal Pradesh lodged 1,518, 2,045 and 1,634 cases in these years respectively. Neighbouring Rajasthan has shown an increasing trend with 3,738, 5,098 and 5,462 cases, respectively. Sharing an international border with a hostile country, Punjab is highly vulnerable to cross-border smuggling of narcotics as well as other contraband, including weapons, ammunition and fake currency, which are trafficked though various means, including the increasing use of drones.

So far this year, the Border Security Force (BSF), which is responsible for the peacetime management of the international border, has seized 35 kg of narcotics in the vicinity of the border and neutralised over 45 drones originating from Pakistan.

In reply to questions by Members of Parliament Shambhu Sharan Patel, Baburam Nishad and Randeep Singh Surjewala, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai stated that border-guarding forces, including the BSF, Assam Rifles and Sashastra Seema Bal, have been empowered under the NDPS Act to carry out search, seizure and arrest for illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs at the international border. Further, Railway Protection Force has also been empowered under the Act to check drug trafficking along the railway routes.