No compromise with encroachment on forest land: Supreme Court on eviction of 10,000 houses in Aravalli

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the eviction of around 10,000 residential constructions, which had come up at Haryana's Lakkadpur-Khori village in the Aravalli area, saying there cannot be any compromise with the forest land.

“We had passed an interim order in February 2020 since it was an encroachment of forest land and it has to be vacated," a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari said, declining to modify the order.

Taking a serious view of the matter, the court sought to know from the Faridabad Municipal Corporation why encroachments have not been removed till June 2021, despite the order passed in February.

"Land grabbers can't take refuge of rule of law," the bench said as senior advocate Colin Gonsalves sought some accommodation. Gonsalves also pleaded for a reasonable cut-off date.

The bench, for its part, said as far as forest land is concerned there cannot be any compromise irrespective of the policy. If the state wants to accommodate them it is up to them, the court said.

As the counsel submitted that people in the area were trying to encroach further, the bench asserted that no concession can be granted in connection with encroachment on the forest land.

Residents of Khori Gaon Basti in Faridabad, Haryana sought an immediate stay on the proposed demolition of about 10,000 houses in the area. They challenged the validity of the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran Rehabilitation Policy, which put a cut-off for rehabilitation to 2003.

The bench told Gonsalves that the encroachers should vacate the land on their own so that corporation does not have to spend on the eviction. "If you want your petition to be considered, be a law-abiding citizen," the bench told him.

Gonsalves said during the Covid-19 pandemic, residents, who were poor people, would face further hardships.

“Sorry, we are saying sorry plainly," the bench said, adding that people should vacate the forest land peacefully.

The court directed the corporation to remove all encroachments on forest land not later than six weeks and report compliance under the signature of the chief secretary and secretary of the Haryana Forest Department.

It posted the matter for further hearing on July 27.