Aravali Hillock was Granted an Exempt Status to Make More Room for a Road

The Indian Supreme Court issued an order in the case, stating that an entire Aravali hillock had been flattened to build a method road for farmhouses being built in the village Bandhwari, about 1.5 kilometers off the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road. The Additional Advocate General, speaking on behalf of the Government of Haryana, assured the Supreme Court that the necessary steps would be taken to avoid further harm. The Supreme Court directed that adequate action be taken and a report be presented to the Court as soon as possible.

Furthermore, the District Magistrate and police authorities have been also directed to take the necessary steps immediately. Numerous factors must be considered by the mining department, including the status of land in income records and approval from a district-level expert appraisal committee tasked with assessing EC mining proposals.

Bandhwari village in the Aravalis consists gair mumkin pahar (uncultivable hill) regions and adjoining sandy foothills are known as ‘blood’ in the revenue records. They are an important nature reserve and groundwater recharge area, and they should be preserved as open spaces. R S Batth, district town planner (enforcement), also promised swift action against the project developers. As per the reports, no transition of land usage has been accorded for any farmhouse project. The demolition will be done by hand, as is the case with the rest of the house.

However, with earthmovers hard at work and water systems, tall perimeter walls, and fenced compounds that are now in place, the colonization of the hills here appears to be irreversible. Locals say farmhouses of various sizes are springing up in the region spread across 25-30 acres, thanks to an engrained nexus of land sharks and a few “influential” locals. Bandhwari village falls under the jurisdiction of MCG, Gurugram’s municipal corporation.”

Conclusion

Government proposals to divert Aravali land for the development of any other work are almost never rejected. Despite the fact that the forest area is shielded, authorities continue to divert its land for other purposes. There has not been any attempt to safeguard the Aravalis or to increase forest cover. On Thursday, GMDA chief executive officer Sudhir Rajpal attended the project site to review work. According to officials, 55% of the construction work on both sides of the hillock has been completed, with the remainder expected to be completed by the end of the month.