News: 60 shanties razed to clear forest land-25-08-2021
Gurgaon: Around 60 shanties built on forest land in Basai area were razed on Monday clearing about 2 acres. The land in Basai was recently handed over to the forest department by local civic agencies in exchange of green areas utilised for development projects.
Karambir Malik, forest range officer in Gurgaon, said, “We had issued notices to the people who are living in the shanties before we started the demolition drive.”
Speaking about forest land that is being cleared of encroachments, Malik said, “We will carry out plantation drives in the area to restore the green cover. We have fenced the forest area to keep away squatters.”
The department received 12 acres of land in Basai, of which 2 acres had encroachments which was cleared out on Monday by a team of four forest officials. They used a JCB for the demolition.
Meanwhile, the forest department, along with the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), is working on a plan to remove encroachments from green zones. “We are planning to clear green belts across the city,” Malik said. The green patches act like a protective layer against the dust pollutants and the forest department is aiming to increase more green cover in the area. “We will inspect green belts, remove encroachments and then fence the areas properly so that they don’t get encroached upon again,” he added.
A similar drive was carried out by the department on August 9 where around 50 shanties built illegally on forest land were razed in Kadarpur area. The demolition team cleared 4 acre of forest conservation land.
