Gurgaon: The fate of 5,938 homes and dwelling units in four Faridabad villages remains uncertain as the Supreme Court-appointed central empowered committee (CEC) is yet to work out how to deal with existing village habitation on land that has been treated as forest land under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA).The homes are spread across 598 locations and 188.3 acres, with 5,771 of them in Anangpur alone. The CEC, in its Sept 18 interim report, said the “issue remains unresolved” and that it is examining an appropriate approach in consultation with Haryana govt and the Union environment ministry before seeking directions from the Supreme Court.The uncertainty took off from the Supreme Court’s July 2022 ruling that land covered by special orders under Section 4 of the PLPA has the attributes of forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act. The court held that such land cannot be put to non-forest use without prior approval of the Centre and directed removal of illegal structures raised after Oct 25, 1980, and restoration of the land.The ruling brought existing village habitation into focus during subsequent demolition drives. Villagers, particularly those living in the abadi areas of Anangpur, sought protection for their homes. The CEC noted that the extensive habitation posed a challenge to enforcement while ensuring minimal disruption to bona fide residential areas.To establish precisely which structures stand on PLPA-notified land, the CEC in June ordered a fresh survey to resolve discrepancies in Anangpur’s official maps. Revenue, forest, municipal, electricity and police teams checked structures plot by plot and verified their location against PLPA-notified khasras.Enforcement has continued even as the question of existing habitation remains unresolved. The state govt had earlier identified 6,793 unauthorised structures at 729 locations spread over 780.2 acres in Ankhir, Anangpur, Lakkarpur and Mewla Maharajpur. Of these, 241 structures at 88 locations, covering 261 acres, had been demolished and subsequently verified by the CEC.After its first interim report, the committee identified seven more structures at six locations covering 60.1 acres — six in Mewla Maharajpur and one in Anangpur. Subsequent site visits found the forest department and district administration maintaining vigilance against fresh encroachments.In one such case, an unauthorised structure at Khasra No. 1351 in Anangpur was removed on July 7, 2026, under the supervision of a duty magistrate.The CEC is also dealing separately with marriage venues, banquet halls and agricultural farmhouses on privately owned PLPA-notified land. Their owners have sought consideration or regularisation of existing non-forest use, while some have approached Punjab and Haryana high court, where interim protection from demolition continues in certain cases. The CEC has directed that such cases be considered on their merits and that further action remain subject to court orders.“Forest protection requires consistent enforcement, transparency and adherence to decisions already accepted by the state and endorsed by judicial forums. Any fresh assessment must build upon the existing record rather than replace it,” said RP Balwan, former south Haryana forest conservator.
