Gurgaon: Fresh construction activity appears to be continuing inside Ansal Aravali Retreat in Raisina’s protected Aravalis. A TOI field visit on Aug 5 found more than two dozen active construction sites in the area despite ongoing proceedings before National Green Tribunal (NGT) and its earlier directions to restore the ecologically sensitive landscape.The area falls under the ‘gair mumkin pahar’ or uncultivable hill category and is notified under Section 4 of Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), which prohibits tree felling. It is also protected under the Union environment ministry’s Aravali Notification, under which construction of buildings, roads, electrification works and felling of trees are not permitted without approval.During the visit, TOI found labourers working at several plots, an excavator operating inside one property and a large farmhouse under construction. Fresh stone boundary walls, retaining walls, brick pillars and iron gates had come up at multiple locations. Several plots that appeared vacant or only partly developed during previous visits were now enclosed by new boundary walls. Stacks of dressed stone, sand and other construction material indicated ongoing work across the colony.Along C Block Road, around nine farmhouses and boundary walls were under construction. Construction activity was also observed along A and B Block roads. At several locations, vegetation appeared to have been cleared and the land levelled for further development. Fresh stone masonry was also being laid along internal stretches.The fresh activity comes even as NGT continues to hear a suo motu case initiated based on a TOI report published in July 2024 on the cycle of demolition and reconstruction inside Ansal Aravali Retreat.Last month, the tribunal pulled up the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change for failing to appear despite being served notice. It directed the ministry to either appear virtually at the next hearing or appoint legal representation. The tribunal also directed the ministry’s Chandigarh regional office to respond to an intervention application filed by the Ansal Retreat residents’ welfare association. The matter is now listed for hearing on Sept 1.The latest findings also come against the backdrop of earlier NGT directions. In Oct 2018, the tribunal ordered restoration of all protected Aravali land in Gurgaon and Faridabad by removing encroachments and illegal structures.In Dec last year, the tribunal directed the Haryana and Rajasthan govts to constitute a monitoring committee to regularly review the removal of encroachments and illegal construction in protected Aravali areas of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Nuh and Alwar.The area has witnessed repeated enforcement action over the years. Around 30 structures were demolished by Sohna Municipal Council in 2021. Nearly 195 show-cause notices were issued to farmhouse owners in 2019, most of them in Ansal Aravali Retreat. Despite these measures, a forest department survey has estimated that at least 500 farmhouses have come up illegally on Aravali land in Gurgaon.Repeated attempts to contact the Gurgaon deputy commissioner for a comment went unanswered.Environmentalist Col SS Oberoi (Retd) said the latest construction activity raises concerns over the implementation of the tribunal’s directions. “Despite several NGT orders, particularly the Oct 2018 direction to remove encroachments and restore forests in the Aravalis, construction has continued in Raisina because of delayed action by the district administration,” he said.
