Forest dept nod must for toll plaza at Sehrawan: NGT
THE NGT WAS CRITICAL OF THE DC WRITING A LETTER IN DECEMBER 2017, ALLOWING THE TRANSFER OF 65 ACRES TO THE NHAI
GURUGRAM The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday ruled that the Gurugram district administration cannot take control of land at Sehrawan, near Manesar, for the construction of a toll plaza, without getting a clearance from the forest department.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to shift the Kherki Daula toll plaza to Sehrawan and had sought the transfer of 65 acres for this purpose.
Although the district administration is in support of the proposal, it was opposed by the members of Manesar panchayat and local environmental activists, who approached the NGT.
“It is to be noted that the land in question, partially/wholly, is forest land. In view of the above, the deputy commissioner, Gurgaon, ought to have issued any letter only after gathering full information about the land and its nature after consultation with the department concerned, i.e., forest (sic). The proposal for giving possession should come only after following the procedure under the law, for instance, the Forest Conservation Act, 1980,” states the order.
The NGT was critical of the deputy commissioner writing a letter in December 2017, allowing the transfer of 65 acres to the NHAI at Sehrawan.
Ram Avtar Yadav, ex-sarpanch, Manesar, who is the petitioner in the case, said that the NGT order makes it clear that the Gurugram administration should not have granted the permission for the transfer without a clearance from the forest department.
“The authorities must take clearance from the forest department before transferring land to the highways authority. The land I am trying to save is a pristine forest in the entire south Haryana and has a large number of trees, which must be saved,” he said.
Yadav, however, said he was disappointed that the NGT had not granted a stay on the construction of the toll plaza at Sehrawan, despite it being a wildlife corridor.
“This is a wildlife corridor. We expected the NGT to take cognizance of this fact but that did not happen,” he said.
The deputy commissioner of Gurugram did not respond to calls and messages for a comment on the issue.