SC raps Haryana for allowing construction in forest area of Aravalli hills

The Supreme Court Friday came down heavily on the Haryana government for passing amendments to an act which allows construction in Aravalli hills, saying the step will destroy the forest and this cannot be permitted.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta asked the state not to take any further action on the law and termed it "shocking" that the Haryana government has taken this step despite being told earlier by the apex court not to do so.

On February 27, the Haryana Assembly had passed amendments to an act, opening up thousands of acres of land to real estate and other non-forest activity that were protected under it for over a century.

Chief Minister M L Khattar had said the Punjab Land Preservation (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2019, was the "need of the hour", adding that it was a "very old" act and much has changed over a period of time.

The top court was dealing with a matter in which it had earlier directed demolition of illegal constructions in forest area of Aravalli hills in Haryana.

"You are not supreme and supreme is the rule of law," the bench told the counsel appearing for Haryana and asked the state not to take any action on the law allowing constructions in Aravalli area.

"It is really shocking. You are destroying the forest...it is not permissible," the court said, adding that "it is sheer contempt".

The bench observed it had earlier asked Haryana not to allow any construction in forest area of Aravalli, but despite that the state went ahead with it.

The amendments to the act were passed by the state assembly amid vociferous protests and walkout by opposition parties.

The Punjab Land Preservation Act was enacted by then Punjab government in 1900 and it provided for conservation of subsoil water and prevention of erosion in areas found to be subject to erosion or likely to become liable to erosion.

The orders and notifications issued under the provisions of the act extend to approximately 10,945 sq km, accounting roughly for about 25 per cent area of Haryana and it covers, wholly or partly, 14 out of the state's 22 districts.

The top court had in January this year extended till July 31 the deadline for house owners, whose buildings were ordered to be demolished due to illegal constructions in forest area of Aravalli hills, to vacate their premises subject to furnishing of undertaking in this regard.

The court had said the 33 house owners in Faridabad's Kant Enclave, who were earlier directed by the apex court to vacate their premises by March 31, would get time till July 31 if they file undertaking that they would vacate the properties by then.

On September 11 last year, the apex court had termed "frightening" the illegal construction in the forest area of Aravalli hills and directed the Haryana government to demolish the unauthorised structures built there after August 18, 1992.

The court had lashed out at the Haryana government and said the construction activity carried out by R Kant and Company, a private realtor who was a party to the case, was clearly in violation of the August 18, 1992 notification and also in blatant defiance of the court's orders.

The 1992 notification issued under the provisions of the Punjab Land Preservation (PLP) Act had prohibited clearing or breaking up of land not ordinarily under cultivation.