Allotment of forest land for setting up a petrol pump illegal: NGT

Sanjay Yadav

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, February 15

Taking a stern stance against the allocation of land for a petrol pump in the forest area of Chakkarpur, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has declared it illegal and ordered the Deputy Commissioner and Divisional Forest Officer of Gurugram to take action as per the law and to submit the action taken report within two months.

The NGT in its February 9 order stated, “The site in question was part of forest and in terms of the decision of the Supreme Court, it cannot be used for non-forest purposes and thus the retail outlet of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) could not be set up on the said site.”

The decision followed a complaint by a local NGO – Manav Awaaj – against the allocation forest for a petrol pump.

Abhay Jain, convener of Manav Awaaj, alleged that the Gurugram MC had allotted 1,500 square metres of land in Khasra No. 611/4 in village Chakkarpur in DLF Phase-1, which was part of the protected forest area, to the IOCL for setting up a petrol pump through its letter dated March 15, 2019. And despite objections raised and submitted by ruling party local MLA Sudhir Singla, DLF RWA, local councilor RS Rathee, NGOs Gurgaon Citizen Council, I am Gurgaon, etc, the Haryana Government did not cancel the allotment.

“Thus, the NGO approached the NGT making a prayer for cancellation of the allotment of protected forest land for setting up petrol pump,” said Jain.

A three-member principal bench at Delhi, headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Chairperson of the NGT, stated, “In spite of the said stand of the Forest Department, the MCG has failed to take the remedial action to enforce the law. Use of forest land for non-forest purposes is also in violation of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notification dated May 7, 1992 with regard to the Aravalli range”.

The NGT directed the Deputy Commissioner and Divisional Forest Officer of Gurugram to submit within two months an action taken report stating as to how the protected forest land was allotted by the MCG for setting up a petrol pump.

Rishabh Jain, counsel for Manav Awaaj, said that the Punjab and Haryana High Court in its order dated February 13, 2020 had already prohibited any construction activity on forest land in view of the judgment of the Supreme Court in MC Mehta versus Union of India case.