Forest mafia ravaging Shivaliks for farmhouses near Chandigarh
Hills being levelled, seasonal rivulets diverted in eco-fragile Majri area
Well-heeled forest mafia is levelling hills and diverting seasonal rivulets in eco-fragile Shivalik foothills at Mirzapur village in Majri block and other areas to carve out farmhouses in Chandigarh’s periphery.
The violation is being done in areas protected under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900, and the adjoining areas that have been taken out (de-listed) from the Act's provisions.
Despite intervention by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Punjab and Haryana High Court, illegal construction in the Shivalik foothills is still rampant. Interestingly, this is the same area for which the state government had brought a farmhouse policy (de-listed areas) that was stayed by the NGT.
No action despite complaints: Forest officials
Forest Department officials said the land mafia was taking advantage due to the absence of demarcation of the area protected under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900
They accused the police of being lackadaisical in taking action against the violators despite repeated complaints. A senior official of the Housing Department also accused the police of laxity
Forest Department officials said the land mafia was taking advantage due to the absence of demarcation of the area under the PLPA and the abutting areas taken out of the Acts's purview. They accused the police of being lackadaisical in taking action against the violators despite repeated complaints.
Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Hills, Mahavir Singh said a JCB and other machinery of the persons responsible for doing the activity in the Mirzapur area had been confiscated. The police have been asked to register case against violators.
A survey of the area reveals that in Chotti and Badi Naggal, Parol and other areas, seasonal rivulets have been diverted to reclaim land for farm houses. But no action on the ground is visible.
The officials said there were two types of violations — farmhouses in the areas delisted from PLPA and structures raised in the areas that come under the Act.
Following the intervention of the High Court, GMADA has stepped up its action against the violators in the de-listed areas. In its affidavit before the court, GMADA has said it has identified 193 illegal constructions, and 300 structures have been demolished in de-listed forest land across 15 villages in six months. A senior official of the Housing Department said the police had been slow in taking action against the violators.
Flagging the issue, senior BJP leader Vineet Joshi said in Mirzapur village of Majri block, the land mafia was levelling village hills and forest land, carving out plots and farmhouses and selling them illegally.
“Despite restrictions on tampering with hills, they are cutting them down and filling soil into the seasonal drain to create access roads for illegally sold farmhouses and plots,” he claimed.
The land in many of the villages covered under the PLPA and de-listed from the Act was Mushtarka-Malkan” (joint ownership land), meaning collectively owned by multiple shareholders and not legally partitioned. After selling the land, efforts was made to reclaim the land by putting up fencing.
