Tree felling nod for housing in Aravallis wrong: Centre to NGT

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change submitted a report of an enquiry before the NGT, stating that the area where more than 10,000 trees were chopped in Sarai Khwaja village in Faridabad for a housing society was ‘deemed forest’. It said the permission to cut trees was ‘incorrect’.

The matter is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday. The NGT had asked the ministry to submit an enquiry report on a petition filed by Lt Col (retd) Sarvadaman Singh Oberoi, who wants realty projects out of the ‘Aravalli gair mumkin pahar area’, considered as ‘deemed forest’. Former additional chief secretary (forest) to Haryana government, SK Gulati, had in June ordered clearing of land for the housing project. Enquiry report said the order “should have been avoided”.

Gulati’s order stated “….the land of Ms Bharti Land is not a protected, reserved or unclassed forests; not notified under section 4 and/or 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900, and no plantation under Aravalli Project has been undertaken by forest department on above said land. The area is not being treated as forest for purpose of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The land does not constitute forest component of NCZ. The area if comes under Section 4 of PLPA, it can get permission from the department for tree felling(sic).”

“This area does not constitute forest component as per NCRPB meeting dated 20.12.2016,” stated Gulati’s order. But the ministry said this order was incorrect by the enquiry as “nothing such is recorded in the meeting of NCRPB.” HTC