‘Provide info on illegal farmhouses in Aravallis’

Recommending survey of the area, state information commission asks departments to take action as per the law

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana state information commission has recommended that a survey of the Aravalli area in Gurugram and Faridabad, particularly 60 farmhouses, be conducted to determine illegal construction in the area.

State information commissioner (SIC) Arun Sangwan in a January 15 order asked the town and country planning and forests department to furnish complete details of illegal construction in the Aravallis and take action as per the law.

Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka had filed an appeal before the commission seeking information on illegal constructions.

Khemka’s appeal was based on the reply of state forests minister Kanwar Pal who had told the Haryana assembly on February 27, 2020 that 50 farmhouses had been built in the Faridabad area and 10 in the Gurugram area.

Pal had also told the assembly that illegal construction in the Aravalli area will not be allowed and notices had been issued to defaulters.

The minister, who was responding to a query by BJP MLA Seema Trikha in the assembly, had however said there was no proposal under consideration to regularise or approve the said farmhouses.

“The minister’s reply clarifies the existence of 60 farmhouses in Faridabad and Gurugram, which have been built without any requisite permission. This points to encroachment by the owners of these farmhouses. The department’s response that there is no record of such individuals is not satisfactory as it is the duty of the district town planner (enforcement) to monitor any attempts at illegal construction in its designated area. Even after the reply given in the Vidhan Sabha, the district town planner for Faridabad and Gurugram, has failed to check the ownership of these illegally constructed farmhouses. Ignoring the violation seems to be by design rather than neglect, considering electricity connections have already been provided to the owners of these illegal farmhouses,” the SIC said in his order.

The SIC said the public should know facts about encroachers of the Aravalli land under Section 4 and 5 of Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) who allegedly constructed the farmhouses without taking change of land permission from the town and country planning department.

“This exercise must be completed in a reasonable time frame, preferably, within one month of receipt of this order and submit the report to the commission before the next date of hearing,’’ the order said.

The Commission also recommended that the managing director of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam should also conduct a survey of the Aravalli area and furnish details of electricity connections provided in the area.

SIC SAYS IT SEEMS VIOLATIONS WERE IGNORED BY DESIGN RATHER THAN NEGLECT AS EVEN AFTER MINISTER’S ASSEMBLY REPLY THE DISTRICT TOWN PLANNER (ENFORCEMENT) FAILED TO CHECK THE OWNERSHIP OF ILLEGALLY CONSTRUCTED FARMHOUSES