Gurgaon: At Kant Enclave, a board carries the name of Kesar Properties, phone numbers and images of proposed buildings.Nearly eight years after Supreme Court ordered demolition of illegal construction at Kant Enclave, the project name is back on signboards along Suraj Kund Road. The structures were demolished in 2019.The 159-hectare Kant Enclave land is back on the table for forest diversion, with the proposal listed for discussion before Haryana Project Screening Committee (PSC) on Monday — the proposal seeks diversion of the Aravali land for non-forest use.Its return to the clearance process comes after Haryana wildlife department recently addressed an objection over part of the site falling within the 100-metre eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.In a letter dated Sept 2, the chief conservator of forests (CCF), wildlife, said, “The company owns 171.9 hectares in khasra nos — meaning field index number — 9 to 16 in Anangpur. Of this, 159.2 hectares has been proposed for diversion, while 12.7 hectares in khasra nos 9, 10, 11 and 12 — falling within the 100-metre eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary — has been kept outside the proposal.”TOI had reported in Dec 2023 that the Kant Enclave site formed part of a leopard corridor and that the wildlife department had raised concerns over the proposed development on the forested Aravali land. The proposal returned to the PSC this year.The land has a contentious legal history. In its Sept 11, 2018, judgement in the Kant Enclave case, SC held that land notified under PLPA had to be treated as forest and forest land.It specifically held that Kant Enclave was forest or forest land and that construction raised after Aug 18, 1992, was illegal and impermissible. The court ordered demolition of such constructions.The court had also held that non-forest use of the land without prior approval of the central govt under the Forest (Conservation) Act was illegal.Former conservator of forests (south Haryana) RP Balwan told TOI, “Kant Enclave was found to be a violator and the matter remained before the Supreme Court for more than 10 years. SC eventually ordered demolition and the structures were demolished. If the court has already found the project to be in violation, how can the same land now be brought under the Forest Conservation Act for redevelopment? The proposal should not be entertained.”The Sept 2 CCF letter makes clear that private ownership does not change the status of the land under forest law.“The area notified under Specific Section 4 of Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) 1900 has been considered as ‘forest’ by Supreme Court vide order dated 18.03.2004 for the provisions of Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980,” it states.The company had told the wildlife department on Aug 13 that it would demarcate and fence the 12.7-hectare ESZ portion and would not disturb it.The department said that “If the forest diversion proposal is approved by the Centre, the area would be surveyed and demarcated in the presence of forest and wildlife officials.”It also said the ESZ portion could not be used for non-forest activity without the required approval and that the May 31, 2019, ESZ notification would have to be followed. The clarification came after the ESZ issue was raised during scrutiny of the proposal.For now, the Sept 2 wildlife department letter only addresses the specific objection concerning the 100-metre ESZ. It does not amount to forest diversion approval. The proposal still has to pass state-level scrutiny and obtain approval from the Centre before the land can be put to non-forest use.Former forest conservator (south Haryana) MD Sinha said, “SC has clearly stated that the land is forest. So far, forest clearance has been granted for projects undertaken for a public purpose. No housing project has received clearance for diversion of land notified under Sections 4 and 5 of the PLPA. If this proposal is approved, it could set a precedent for the state to allow similar diversions for private developers. If that happens, there will be hardly any Aravalis left. This diversion should not be allowed.”In July 2022, Supreme Court held that land covered by special orders issued under special Section 4 of PLPA has the character of forest land and cannot be put to non-forest use without prior approval of the Centre. The court directed authorities to remove remaining illegal building, walls, banquet halls and any construction on such land and restore it, including through reforestation and afforestation where required.This development has happened three years after a joint inspection by forest and wildlife officials on Nov 30, 2023, described the Kant Enclave land as a “natural forest with good wildlife habitat” and a buffer for wildlife using Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.The report recorded leopards, hyenas, jackals, civets, jungle cats and spotted deer in the area and said the animals were using the land as their “second home”. It also recorded peacocks, black partridges, Indian rock pythons, cobras, sand boas, rat snakes, monitor lizards and hedgehogs.
