‘ Demolish illegal construction in Aravallis’ forest’

◗ The bench said the ‘ rule of law seems to have broken down in Haryana’ and has become the ‘ rule of men’ only to favour the firm

New Delhi, Sept. 11: The Supreme Court Tuesday termed as “frightening” the illegal constructions in the forest area of Aravalli hills and directed the Haryana government to demolish the unauthorised structures built there after August 18, 1992.

Lashing out at the state government on the issue, a bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta said the construction activity carried out by R. Kant and Company, a private realtor who is a party to the case, was clearly in violation of the August 18, 1992 notification and in blatant defiance of the court’s orders.

It said the “rule of law seems to have broken down in Haryana” and has become the “rule of men” only to favour the firm. The bench asked the company to deposit ` 5 crore for rehabilitation of the damaged areas.

The 1992 notification issued under the provisions of the Punjab Land Preservation ( PLP) Act had prohibited clearing or breaking up of land not ordinarily under cultivation.

Permission to break the land for cultivation could be permitted by the divisional forest officer of Faridabad Forest Division, the notification had said, adding that in any event construction activity could not be permitted even by the divisional forest officer.

The SC’s judgement came on the issue whether construction carried out by the firm in Kant Enclave on the land in question was in contravention of the notification.

“We have no doubt that Kant Enclave is a forest or is a forest land or is required to be treated as a forest or forest land and absolutely no construction activity could have been permitted on it with effect from August 18, 1992. Any and all construction activity in Kant Enclave since that date is illegal and impermissible in law,” the bench said.

The bench noted that the “extent of violation is quite frightening and one could only imagine the phenomenal environmental and ecological damage” caused to the area due to illegal constructions there.