Gurgaon: A private school building, a mosque and a church boundary wall built on reserved forest land in Sohna were demolished on Tuesday, reclaiming around three acres land during an anti-encroachment drive.Officials said the demolition was part of a broader crackdown on encroachments in the protected Aravali forests. Gurgaon forest division, backed by district authorities and police, carried out the demolition using earthmovers to raze the structures and take formal possession.Divisional forest officer (Gurgaon) Surender Dangi said the reclaimed land forms part of the Sohna reserved forest, where construction and occupation are prohibited under the Indian Forest Act.“About three acres of reserved forest land have been reclaimed during today’s drive. The encroachments included a church boundary wall, a school building and a mosque. The forest department has now taken possession of the land. Similar action will continue wherever forest land has been encroached upon,” Dangi told TOI.The department has lined up more demolition drives in villages adjoining the Aravali forests. Dangi said 18 notices have been issued to alleged encroachers in Ghamroj village and five notices in Gairatpur Bas. Action will be taken after the statutory notice period and completion of the legal process.The demolition is significant because reserved forests have the strictest legal shield under the Indian Forest Act. Unlike revenue land, reserved forests cannot be diverted or used for non-forest purposes without statutory approvals. Officials said reclaiming such land is essential to prevent further fragmentation of the Aravali ecosystem, which serves as Gurgaon and south Haryana’s primary natural barrier against desertification, groundwater depletion and dust storms.Encroachment has become one of the biggest threats to the Aravalis in the last two decades, driven by rapid urban sprawl around Gurgaon and Sohna. Illegal farmhouses, religious structures and commercial structures have mushroomed across the range. Environmentalists warn that such piecemeal encroachments fragment wildlife corridors, choke natural drainage and make forest restoration progressively difficult.The forest department has intensified enforcement over the past few years following directions from the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court to protect the ecologically sensitive Aravali landscape from illegal construction and degradation. The latest drive in Sohna is part of that continuing exercise to recover govt forest land and deter fresh encroachments.Officials said the reclaimed site will remain under the forest department’s possession and will be monitored to prevent any attempt at reoccupation. More anti-encroachment drives are expected in the coming weeks as the department acts on notices already served in Ghamroj and Gairatpur Bas.
