Chandigarh, April 10
The record of the Haryana Forest Department says it has planted trees on the land of two villages of Faridabad district under the Aravalli Project, while the record of the Haryana Mining Department says there are stone crushers on that land.
This contradiction came to light recently when the Forest Department communicated to a committee set up by the state government, the particulars of the land on which it had undertaken plantation in Faridabad district under the Aravalli Project, which was launched in 1990 with the assistance of the European Community (EU) and continued till 2000.
The committee was set up to identify the areas, with khasra numbers of each village, where plantation was done under the Aravalli Project. Its report was to go to the Director, Mines, Haryana, so that he could stop all mining activities in pursuance of the orders of the Supreme Court passed on March 18, 2004, banning all such activities in Faridabad and Gurgaon districts.
Informed sources say the Forest Department recently issued notices to about 15 builders in Faridabad district asking them to explain why action should not be initiated against them for undertaking construction on the land on which plantation was done under the Aravalli Project as well as the areas covered under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land
Preservation Act, 1990.
However, the sources say, the department, for reasons best known to it, spared the stone crushers set up on the land on which it had planted trees. About 30 crushers are believed to be operating from such areas.
The sources say no doubt the crushers have been installed inside the crusher zones approved by the Haryana Government in Pali and Gothara Mohabatabad villages of Faridabad district, nevertheless they are located on the land on which the Forest Department planted trees under the Aravalli Project, or at least where its record says that the plantation stands.
The department had planted trees in 18 villages of Faridabad district under the prestigious project, which was aimed at restoring the flora and fauna in the Aravalli range.
The sources say the Forest Department reported to the committee that the entire Khasra No. 39 of Gothara Mohabatabad village was under plantation. Similarly, the whole of Khasra No. 67, Killa Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 24 and 25 of Khasra No. 68; and Killa Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25 of Khasra No. 69 of Pali village was under plantation under the Aravalli Project.
These areas constitute part of the crusher zones approved by the Haryana Government in 1993. About 30 crushers have been installed on this land, which is claimed by the Forest Department to be under plantation.
The zones were identified by the Haryana Government to rehabilitate those stone crushers in Delhi and Faridabad, which were closed by a Division Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Mr Justice Kuldeep Singh and Mr Justice K. Ramaswamy on May 15, 1992, to protect environment in the national Capital.
It seems that while identifying the zones, the government was either not aware of or it chose to ignore the fact that its own department had planted trees in this area under the Aravalli Project.
It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had ordered on March 18, 2004, that “no mining activity can be carried out on an area over which plantation has been undertaken under the Aravalli Project by the utilisation of foreign funds.”
Vide the same order the court also held that “no mining activity on areas covered under Sections 4 and/or 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, can be undertaken without approval under the Forest(Conservation) Act, 1980.”
The sources say part of the crusher zones fall in the area covered under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act. However, it is not known if any crusher has also been installed in such an area.
The Chautala government had set up another crusher zone at Dhoj village of Faridabad district about three years ago. About 75 crusher sites were allotted out of which about 10 crushers have already been installed. A writ petition is pending against the Dhoj crusher zone in the Supreme Court on the plea that it has been set up in the area covered under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900.
