Nuh: 55 houses illegally built on Aravalli land

The Nuh administration, while conducting a survey of the Tauru forest, has discovered at least 55 houses illegally constructed in protected areas in the Aravallis, officials aware of the development said on Tuesday, adding that the encroachers have been given till December 31 to remove the structures or face action.

- Leena Dhankhar

Areas that are part of the Aravali Plantation — a project carried out in the 1990s to revive around 33,000 hectares across six Haryana districts — are notified under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, which prohibits the chopping down of trees and any non-forest construction. In August, the Nuh forest department began demarcating Aravalli land with the help of the revenue department, and even if the land ownership is with a village panchayat, no one is allowed to carry out construction work, said officials.