The Supreme Court Tuesday termed as "frightening" the illegal constructions in the forest area of Aravalli hills and directed the Haryana government to demolish the unauthorised structures built there after August 18, 1992.
Lashing out at the state government on the issue, a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said the construction activity carried out by R Kant and Company, a private realtor who is a party to the case, was clearly in violation of the August 18, 1992 notification and in blatant defiance of the court's orders.
It said the "rule of law seems to have broken down in Haryana" and has become the "rule of men" only to favour the firm.
The bench asked the company to deposit Rs 5 crore for rehabilitation of the damaged areas.
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.
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Permission to break the land for cultivation could be permitted by the Divisional Forest Officer of Faridabad Forest Division, the notification had said, adding that in any event construction activity could not be permitted even by the Divisional Forest Officer.
The top court's judgement came on the issue whether construction carried out by the firm in Kant Enclave on the land in question was in contravention of the notification.
"We have no doubt that Kant Enclave is a forest or is a forest land or is required to be treated as a forest or forest land and absolutely no construction activity could have been permitted on it with effect from August 18, 1992. Any and all construction activity in Kant Enclave since that date is illegal and impermissible in law," the bench said.
The bench noted that the "extent of violation is quite frightening and one could only imagine the phenomenal environmental and ecological damage" caused to the area due to illegal constructions there.
It said that there was no doubt that irreversible damage has been caused to the environment and ecology of the Aravalli hills.
It also said the "brazenness" of firm in flouting law was "quite apparent" but what was more "unfortunate" was the support given to them by Town and Country Department of Haryana, despite the reservations of Forest Department.
"There is no doubt that at the end of the day, the state of Haryana comes out in very poor light and must be held accountable for its conflicting and self-destructive stand taken in spite of affidavits filed by the Chief Secretary of the State of Haryana from time to time supporting the Forest Department," the bench said.
"The unfortunate and distressing consequence of this is that because of a complete lack of any concern for the environmental and ecological degradation carried out in the Aravalli hills by influential colonizers like the applicant (R Kant and Company) and what appears to be a very strong mining lobby in Haryana, the damage caused to the Aravalli hills is irreversible," it added.
It said that the present and future generations would have to pay a "heavy price" for the environmental degradation and noted that Badkal Lake, a popular tourist destination once, has now vanished.
"What are the more severe consequences that will be felt in the years to come, only time and nature will tell," the bench observed.
The bench noted that large residential complexes have been constructed despite the orders of the court, which did not give any blanket permission to the applicants to make constructions according to their "whims and fancies".
It also took note of the constructions made in Kant Enclave that out of a total of about 1,600 plots said to have been carved out by R Kant and Company in Kant Enclave, conveyance deeds have been executed only in respect of 284 residential plots and three commercial plots. On the residential plots, only 33 houses have been constructed.
The court divided the investors in two categories -- those who have been given the land and the ones who have built structures on the land received.
It directed full refund of investment along with interest at 18 per cent per annum, payable entirely by the firm, in case of the first group.
It tentatively quantified the cost of construction at Rs 50 lakh and said it would be paid to those who had constructed after August 18, 1992.
"In respect of constructions made after August 18, 1992, there is no option but to direct the State of Haryana to demolish the illegal and unauthorised constructions. The demolition should be completed on or before December 31, 2018," the bench said.
The court also noted that "well-meaning citizens" have been "virtually duped" into investing huge amounts despite the firm and the Town and Country Department of Haryana being fully aware of the statutory notification and the restrictions placed by the notification.
"To compensate them for the land, we direct that R. Kant and Co. to give them a full refund of their investment in the land along with interest at 18 per cent per annum from the date of the investment," the bench said.
Invoking the polluter pays principle, it said, "perhaps some of the damage could be remedied" even though the damage caused to Aravilli hills was irreversible.
It asked the firm to deposit Rs 5 crore in the Aravalli Rehabilitation Fund by October 31, 2018.
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