Gurugram: Illegal farmhouses on Aravalli to be demolished soon  

The work on demolition of illegal farmhouses on forested Aravalli Hills region will start as soon as a duty of magistrate is appointed, said an official. The operation will be carried out in January.

The Forest Department has demanded the district administration to appoint a Duty Magistrate.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued an order to demolish all the illegal farmhouses on forest land in the Aravalli Hill region by January 31 next year.

As per the NGT order, the Forest Department has conducted the survey.

Nearly 100 farmhouses have been constructed on the Aravalli Hills while the cases of 10 farmhouse owners are still pending in the court.

To demolish the other 90 farmhouses, the Forest Department has demanded that the district administration must appoint a Duty Magistrate.

"It is mandatory to appoint a Duty Magistrate. As far as the Forest Department is concerned, preparation has begun at every level. All farmhouses will be demolished before the stipulated time," said Forest official Karmaveer Malik.

The farmhouses were developed and sold by a private builder before 1990 under the Raisina zone of the Aravalli Hills. Some registries belonged to pre-1992 era. Some of the farm houses have been sold multiple times to different people. The official said the demolition drive would take place in January on all illegally built farmhouses (excluding those pending in court).

A meeting would be held regarding the formation of the committee and where the demolition drive would start from.

In view of the preparation of the Forest Department, three farmhouse owners broke their boundary wall on their own in the Ghata village.

The Forest Department has said the owners of the farmhouses should break it themselves, otherwise they will be charged with the entire cost of demolition, if the department has to break it.

According to the Forest Department survey, nearly 100 farmhouses were built on the forest land. Ten such cases of these farm houses are pending in court which would be heard on January 9.

"To comply with the court orders the demolition drive will start in January. If anyone creates any problem during the drive, action will be taken against them as per the law," said Divisional Forest Officer Jai Kumar.