BJP leader takes on Punjab Govt over Sukhna ESZ
Nayagaon Ghar Bachao Manch chairman and Punjab BJP leader Vineet Joshi has said that the UT Administration has declared 2,298 acres in Punjab as forest land and added that “despite Punjab owning the land, it has no control over it.” He was addressing a press conference here today.
Joshi said that he came across the fact when he took on the Punjab Government over its notification declaring Sukhna eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) up to 3 km instead of 100 m.
Joshi claimed that Chandigarh had declared 2,298 acres in Kansal village of SAS Nagar as a forest area. “The UT went a step ahead by declaring the same as Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary,” he said.
On one hand, the Punjab Government was opposing Chandigarh for giving 10 acres for the new building of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha and on the other hand it was declaring Sukhna ESZ, abandoning its rights over the aforesaid 2,298 acres. The decision has rendered poor and middle-class people of Nayagaon, Kansal, Karoran and Nada in limbo as their lifetime investments and their houses will be razed, he added.
Joshi explained that, “As per Wildlife Act 1972, a wildlife sanctuary can be declared only under the Indian Forest Act 1927. As per the latter, a land can be declared forest only if it is owned by the government and it has been notified. So, the UT cannot declare 2,298 acres of Punjab land as a forest area. As per the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the land acquired for a particular purpose has to be used for the same only. The aforesaid land had been acquired for soil conservation and declaring forest on it was illegal,” he added.
