GURUGRAM: The forest department has reclaimed the playground of the Ghamroj football academy, situated next to the Aravalis, saying it comes under forest land. The land in question has been the subject of a tussle between the department and the academy, with the footballers contending it is owned by the village panchayat.TOI had earlier reported that forest officials twice tried to plant trees on the two-acre ground to reclaim it as forest land, but were opposed by the villagers.They finally removed the fences and goalposts put up by the academy on the ground and planted trees there on February 23. Deepak Nanda, district forest officer (territorial), said, “This land belongs to the forest department, but some people in Ghamroj want to occupy it forcibly. This will not be tolerated. We sent them notices before removing the fences. Our officers went to Ghamroj, uprooted the fences and planted around 150 trees. The land belongs to the forest department and we have all required papers.”Officials said since this land comes under forest area, they would continue to treat it as forest land.“If this is a football field, what is the point of fencing it with wires?” questioned Rashid Ahmad, forest officer.A mahapanchayat was held after the ground was taken over by the forest department on Sunday. Sarpanch Nirmala Devi told TOI, “In the mahapanchayat, we decided the field belongs to the village and it will be given for kids to play after we get this matter cleared up. It is a football field and nothing more.”Ghamroj has recently emerged as a budding nursery for Indian football, having produced several national-level players, including 10 who have played for different professional clubs across the country in the I-League. The village is planning to take the matter up with the forest minister on Thursday.Mahesh Raghav, coach of Ghamroj football academy, said, “The forest department doesn’t have any documents saying this land belongs to them. We will sit on indefinite hunger strike if our demands are not met. We had put a fence around the park only to ensure that cows don’t eat the grass.”Budding footballers of Ghamroj complained that forest officials came without prior notice and planted trees in and around their playing field. “Where will we go if we can’t play on this ground? Our parents can’t afford to send us to expensive football academies in the city,” said Vikas Raghav, who has played in the Santosh Trophy.The village is now contemplating filing a court case against the forest department. “Let them file a suit. We will also show all our papers in court,” Nanda said.

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