Faridabad: Revival of Khori forest zone delayed

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, December 27

The proposed revival of the forest zone at Khori village in the Surajkund area here has failed to start even after five months of the demolition of the residential structures from the colony.

The project was to take off after the clearance of the constructions and its rubble from the region. Spread over around 150 acres, the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) had removed around 9,500 structures, consisting mainly houses in the form of a colony, which had come up illegally over the years on the land that comes under the PLPA (Punjab Land Preservation Act) or Forest, in July this year, in the wake of the Supreme Court order, according to the officials of the district administration.

Located adjacent to the border with Delhi, the land belongs to the MCF. “The Forest Department, which was expected to take up plantation as part of the forest revival on the recovered land, has failed to take up the project till date, as the process of the removal of the debris from the area is yet to be completed,” claimed an official. Admitting that failure to rehabilitate the affected residents had made many of them stick to the same place despite repeated demolitions, he said many were still residing in tented or makeshift shelters. “With over 50 families still pitching here, many have returned here as living here is more affordable than a rented accommodation nearby,” said Pritam Kumar, who lost his house in the demolition drive that took place in July this year. Revealing that he was among hundreds of families who had shifted to rented accommodation in neighbouring colonies located inside the Delhi border, he said the failure of the administration to provide alternative housing facilities had led to the problem, forcing many to live in temporary shelters in the Khori colony itself.