Gurgaon: Deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar has set up a joint committee to investigate illegal tree felling and unauthorised construction in the Aravali area of Raisina village in Sohna tehsil, following directions from National Green Tribunal (NGT).The panel was tasked with conducting a site inspection at Gair Mumkin Pahar land — uncultivable, rocky or steep hill — in Raisina. According to the DC’s order, the panel has been asked to “identify violations of environmental and forest laws”, if any, and recommend preventive and remedial measures.The four-member committee — comprising the Sohna sub-divisional magistrate as chairperson, district forest officer or a forest department representative, the executive officer of Sohna Municipal Council and the regional officer of Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) as member secretary — has been asked to submit a detailed factual and action-taken report to enable the filing of an affidavit before NGT ahead of the next hearing on May 15.The matter is currently being heard by NGT after an application claimed that trees were being illegally cut and construction activities were taking place in the area, which falls within the Aravali landscape and is governed by environmental regulations. The tribunal had directed the Haryana chief secretary to ensure that no illegal construction or tree felling takes place in the area and asked authorities to submit an affidavit detailing action taken. Authorities were also directed to ensure that no illegal construction or tree felling takes place in the area while the case remains pending before the tribunal.The panel will suggest measures, which may include demolition of illegal structures, restoration of the landscape and environmental compensation where applicable. “We will conduct an inspection as per the order and verify the status,” said a Sohna civic body official.Environmentalists repeatedly flagged concerns about construction and land-use changes in the Raisina hills of the Aravali range, which form a critical ecological barrier and groundwater recharge zone for Gurgaon and surrounding areas. “There is no dispute that the Aravalis in Sohna’s Raisina area faced encroachment. Even after so many court orders, the area is not yet restored by the district administration. We still hope action will be taken,” said Col (retd) SS Oberoi, an environmentalist.In 2024, NGT took suo motu cognizance of a TOI report on illegal construction at Ansals’ Aravali Retreat in Raisina, terming the rebuilding of demolished structures a “flagrant violation” of its earlier orders. In Dec 2022 too, the tribunal directed the Haryana and Rajasthan govts to set up a monitoring committee and conduct periodic reviews until all encroachments were removed from the Aravali land.In 2018, NGT ordered that all of the protected Aravalis in Gurgaon and Faridabad should be restored. Though the Gurgaon district committee sent show-cause notices to property owners in 2020, the area under Aravali Notification is yet to be restored as a forest.In 2021, around 30 structures were flattened by Sohna Municipal Council in the region. In 2019, about 195 show-cause notices were issued to farmhouse owners for unauthorised construction in the Aravalis, most of which were located at the Ansals’ Aravali Retreat.
