NGT notice to authorities over green belt encroachments in Faridabad

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to Haryana State Pollution Control Board, HSVP, Municipal Corporation, Deputy Commissioner, Central Ground Water Board and the office of the Chief Secretary, Haryana, regarding the alleged encroachments on the green belts in Faridabad and imposition of environment compensation (EC) against the damage done to the environment.

While the authorities have been asked to submit a report within three months, the next date of hearing has been fixed for March 27.

The order comes in response to a petition filed by Narender Sirohi, a local resident, in which he has raised a concern over alleged encroachments on the green belts in various parts of the city. It is claimed that the menace of encroachments had resulted in pollution and damage to the environment.

The application filed under Sections 14, 15, 16 and 17 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, seeks issuance of directions for immediate removal of encroachments and restoration of the green belts and also imposition of environmental compensation on respondents. It is alleged that wine, liquor shops and taverns (ahatas) have come up on the green belts without requisite permission from the authorities concerned. Numerous complaints have been made to the Deputy Commissioner and the Faridabad Municipal Corporation Commissioner, but to no avail.

"Prima facie, the averments made in the application raise substantial questions relating to the environment arising out of the implementation of the Acts specified in Schedule One of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010,’’ says the order issued by the NGT recently.

"Let notice of the application along with documents attached with the same be issued to the respondents requiring them to file their reply or response at least one week before the next date of hearing hereby fixed," says the NGT order.

The lack of a drive against encroachments in the shape of illegal parking lots and constructions on the green belts along the main roads in the city has made the menace persist. Though the NGT passed an order about seven years ago, the problem still persists, claims Varun Sheokand, a resident who lodged a petition on the same issue in 2017. The encroachments on the green belts, footpaths and stormwater drains has not only resulted in adverse impact on the greenery, but has also increased the problem of waterlogging during the rains, he says.

"The drive against the encroachments and illegal construction is taken up on a regular basis’’, said Siddharth Dahiya, Estate Officer, HSVP.