'Forests will be destroyed': Congress targets Haryana govt over PLPA law

Congress on Saturday hit out at the BJP government in Haryana for legislating the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) Amendment Bill despite the stern stance and orders of the Supreme Court.

In a statement, Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja cited revelations from a Right to Information and said that despite the top court's tough stand, the state government got the law approved by the Governor in June last year and it was notified.

"However, in its observations in March last year, the Supreme Court had expressed displeasure about the bill," she said.

The Congress leader said that the apex court had said that "through this law, the government was clearing the way for regularising illegal constructions by violating the rules. The government was trying to benefit its loved ones through this amendment".She added that Haryana has the least forest area in the country and that is only three-and-a-half percent, which will further decrease after the enactment of this law.

"With the implementation of this law, forests will be destroyed, illegal mining and construction will be promoted," she asserted. Selja said that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report had recently caught a large scale mining scam in Haryana.

"Now this clearly shows that despite orders of the Supreme Court, the present state government can go to any extent to benefit its supporters," she said.